Fate
by CherrySpringer
Summary: Allen was lost in life,trying harder to forget than to move on. When he stumbles into a strange club of sorts, he accidentally knocks something over, causing all attention on him. Lavi/Allen Longer summary inside
1. Accidents Happen

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Summary: Lavi, Allen, Lenalee, and Kanda, and Noise Marie, Chaoji Han, Fou, Tykki, Road, Lulubell, Jasdero, David, and Skin.

Allen was lost, ignoring everyone and trying too hard to frget rather than to just let go. When he stumbles into a strange club of sorts, he accidentally knocks over a statue, causing all attention on him. After the accidental run-in, these strange characters he has suddenly been forced upon are constantly appearing before him, and before he knows it, he finds his life spiraling in a direction he could have never thought possible.

Lavi/Allen Other pairs unknown and are optional.

A/N: First attempt at editing is done.

Section I: Fall

Chapter 1: Accidents Happen

_Christmas time was a time for resentment in the eyes of the young orphan, sitting on a step leading up to a courtyard, where a too-large tree was decorated and lit up. The air was cold as snow dribbled slowly from the white sky, and each drop embedded itself into the light brown hair that framed a small, pale face. Gray eyes stared gloomily across the slightly blurry street, where a happy family was pointing into a shop. A family, a place to call home, a warm bed to snuggle up in on cold nights…did any of them know how lucky they really were?_

"_Hello, there." The boy jumped, turning. _

Even though I had lived in this town for roughly six years, I hardly knew anyone in it. I was even in my second year of high school, and I had never bothered to ask anyone their names or bother to remember any of them. As a result, everyone kept a wide berth from me, although that was more than I could ask for. All I wanted in life was to be away from other people.

My master of sorts, a man that most people shivered at the mere mention of (albeit a woman had a different reason for her shivers), thought that this was caused by my lack of ability to cope with things that had happened in the past. It was the only thing that he and I agreed on. I preferred not to think of my past, of all of the things that had happened to me, or of the life that I had had before it had all happened to me. In the end, all it caused was pain that was already hard enough to suppress without thinking about it.

I lived in a relatively large town, not unlike a small city or an army camp. Our tallest building was only fourteen stories high, and there was only one high school. There were about two thousand kids attending it, though, so it wasn't like we had a minimal amount of teenagers. In fact, there were at least ten elementary schools, and three middle schools, all of which were nearly full. Our town was filled with youth, but since only about a quarter of it was actually adolescents, they only had one high school to stuff them all in. It was crowded, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I didn't really mind; it wasn't like any of it mattered to me. All I did was go to all of my classes and then get straight back home. I never bothered with any of the problems that involved the school, and had never once been teased, bullied, or shoved into a locker, even though I did have strange circumstances for my features.

I had snow white hair, all though it had not always been like that, and an odd assemble of lines below my left eye, and a short line that lead to a colored in star above the eye. These were marks that showed me for what I was, though no one knew what that was exactly. I refused to tell anyone what had befallen me. I had not gotten a tattoo-I had not bleached my hair-and the freaky black shriveled left arm that I carried was not a result of a fire. I was, all in all, a freak, and I often tried my best to hide it by making my hair fall above my left eye and by always wearing something long-sleeved.

It hadn't always worked, of course. I got the odd questions here and there: "Why do you always wear gloves?" or "Did you get a tattoo on your eye, or is that a really cool birthmark?" Anyone who asked was very kind about it, and I responded in equal kindness, often saying things like "Oh, it's nothing," or "This? It's just a strange comfort of mine." After that, they didn't really bother me, seemingly satisfied with my answers.

"Oi, idiot-boy." My head snapped up at the sound of the deep voice, layered with drunken stupor. I looked at the clock beside my desk, then closed my binder. I slowly turned, facing my master. His narrow black eyes glared at me behind his thin-rimmed glasses, and his wild red hair surrounded his face like a mane. I could smell the alcohol coming from his breath from where I sat.

"Yes, Master?" I asked, cringing when I smelt his breath. I hated alcohol.

"What're you doing sitting here? I thought I told you to get on those dishes a few minutes ago." He demanded, and I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. He had already told me to do this before he had gone to the bar, and I had already done it.

"It's midnight, Master. I already did the dishes." I said stiffly, already regretting not going to bed sooner. Maybe he wouldn't have bothered me then; now, I was sure to get a smack across the head for my supposed tardiness.

"Shut up! Go get the dishes done!" Master snapped, crossing the room to cuff me across the back of my head. I winced, looking at the clock again. Maybe if I just slipped downstairs while he watched me, and then waited for him to go back to his room…I slowly stood up, ignoring the sudden aching in my head. He watched me all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen, and as soon as I entered, I gawked.

The kitchen had, somehow, become extremely dirty again. Wine bottles were sitting on the counter, and dishes were thrown into the sink without care. My jaw snapped shut, and I could feel my eye twitching in agitation. He had taken it upon himself, obviously, to recreate his mess. I sighed, slumping towards the sink. I could feel the weariness that I had been ignoring while doing my homework hitting me now.

As soon as I was finished, I sped from the kitchen and up the stairs, but not before I heard the loud snores coming from the living room. Obviously, Master had fallen asleep in his drunken stupor. I rolled my eyes, reaching my room and opening the door slowly as to not make a sound. Despite the loud snoring, Master had a tendency to wake up easily enough that it would be better to be silent.

Throwing off my pants, I slipped under my comforter, ready for a bit of sleep before the morning. Making sure my alarm was set, I allowed myself to drfit off into a light sleep.

My dreams weren't necessarily pleasant that night. They never really were; I always had the same nightmare over and over again, without any exceptions. The same sequence of events that constantly played in my mind while I was asleep always scared me, no matter how many times I had gone through it. Seeing his face, smiling and happy as snow fell around him, then seeing him through a crack in the door, upset over something with someone across from him, the two of them in deep conversation. And then, the worst sight, the sight of his mangled body uncovered from the thin white sheet that had previously been hiding him. The image burned into my mind, never leaving me. It was the sole reason that I could not live a normal life, no matter how many hardships I had gone through beforehand.

This night, something different had happened. Instead of _his_ mangled body, I had seen someone else's. Someone I had never even met before, but for some reason I had felt such deep sorrow that even now, startled awake and drenched in cold sweat, I couldn't help but have to choke back the hysteria I was feeling.

I tried to push the image out of my head as I glanced at my clock; I had woken up long before I should have, and it was only six forty-five in the morning. Sighing, I ran my hand across my face, taking long, deep breaths. For a moment, I just sat there, trying to steady my racing heart, but then I decided that I needed to do something to keep my mind occupied.

I had only really had a few hours of sleep, but I had never felt so awake. For some reason, seeing a different person there, mangled and dead and sharing the same fate as the one person I had ever truly cared about, had awakened something inside of me. As I stared around my room, I noticed things that I had never really noticed before. Like how it didn't really seem like anyone actually occupied this room except for the pair of pants on the floor, the half full laundry hamper that had all the same black clothes in it, and the binder lying absently on a too-tidy desk in the corner. There were no posters, no pictures, and no paintings. I didn't even have trinkets sitting on my desk, or a lamp, or even a telephone.

With a sigh, I tugged my blankets off of me and gave a small stretch, feeling the muscles in my back give a sharp pain. I scanned my room again, seeking some sort of relief from my sudden revelation, and found nothing. Deciding on a hot shower to help loosen the muscles in my back, I discarded my blankets entirely and stood, taking off my shirt and throwing it beside my pants.

The house was quiet-not even Master's snores were vibrating throughout the walls. I crept through the halls, not wanting to ruin the peacefulness of the situation, and went to the bathroom that was two doors down. I locked the door behind me, stripping my boxers and socks off.

The shower helped, I found. The feeling of the hot water helped me think clearly, and I could feel the tension in my back receding. Steam rose, and the scent of water and body wash surrounded me, pleasant and comforting. It didn't feel like a long amount of time had past when I was turning off the taps.

As soon as I was wrapping a towel around my waist, I wanted to go back in. The unfamiliar face was once again in my mind, taking over all other thoughts, and I wanted nothing more than to smash my head against the mirror to try and make it disappear. I looked at myself in the mirror, and saw a black face, showing none of the turmoil going on inside me. I felt my fist twitch, and before I could stop myself flesh was connecting with glass. A loud crack resounded, but there was no real damage done. There was a few small cracks in the mirror, showing that i had punched almost directly where my eyes were, and I winced.

I quickly looked away before I got any stupid ideas, opening the bathroom door and fleeing to my room as quickly as possible. I didn't even notice that my hand was bleeding until I had tugged my towel off in exchange for a pair of clean boxers. Groaning, I went to my desk and pulled out my emergency bandages.

Before I could think too much about the cuts and my dream, I pulled on a pair of probably too tight pants and a white t-shirt, then I took my towel and hand-dried my hair. I was trying to keep my mind off of things by keeping myself busy. I glanced at the clock-I had only wasted a half an hour of my time. I slipped into the chair of the desk, and pulled open my binder. Flipping to the page I had been on last night, I pulled out a pen and stared blankly at the essay I had been writing.

I was good at school. I got straight A's, and was the top student in my class. One thing I had noticed, though, was that I was not the top in my school. There was one other ahead of me, though I hadn't bothered with checking the name. I didn't really care; I only got good grades because Master said he'd kick me out if I didn't. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even bother with my work. As it was, I hardly even paid attention to any of the work I did do.

"Hallelujah, the brat's actually up this early." I cringed at the sound of the deep, smooth voice. He was no longer drunk, but I could tell he wasn't in a good mood. His tone was icy, and if he was actually bothering to come up to my room while sober, he was obviously angry about something.

"Is there anything you want, Master?" I asked, disregarding his comment. There was a small chuckle, as if he thought my ignorance was amusing.

"Yeah; I wanna know why the hell you decided to have a shower when you knew I was sleeping you little brat. You knew I'd wake up!" he accused, obviously aggravated. I turned slowly to face him, keeping my eyes low. There was a small intake of breath just as I was about to say sorry, and, forgetting that whenever I looked into his eyes he would start to scheme something evil, I looked up.

He was staring at me as if I were alien. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and his eyes were narrowed suspiciously. I swallowed nervously, wondering what he had seen that had surprised him. "Y-yes, Master? Is there something wrong?" I asked. Suddenly, Master's expression changed. There was an almost caring look there, and understanding. I was confused at this-usually Master only had eyes for himself, so I couldn't see why he was showing _me_ kindness.

"No, there's nothing, idiot-boy. When you have the time, make sure you take those wine bottles to the depot. We could use the money they'll get us." He said, turning and leaving. My eye twitched. _Money you'll just use for gambling and drinking_, I thought coolly. It was bad enough that we were low on money to pay the rent for this house; he had to go spend every last spare dime on drinking and girls and gambling, every night. We rarely ever had food in the house, and when we did he would eat it all as soon as he got home, tired from his 'exercises' with some girl he had met on the streets.

Grumbling about mixed messages, I turned back to my essay and began to write furiously, all the way until it had been completed and I only had fifteen minutes to get to school. Throwing the binder closed, I shoved away from the desk and pulled on the white gloves sitting absently on my dresser, then I pulled on the only white hoodie I owned and chucked it on, grabbing my back pack and my binder.

When I reached downstairs I slipped on the black Dickie's skate shoes and then left the house. I didn't bother checking to see if there was mail or if anyone coming towards our door, or even make sure to close the gate behind me as I stumbled onto the sidewalk. I left without breakfast either, which I knew I'd regret in a couple hours time.

I ran all the way to the school, mumbling about being late even though I had woken up an hour early, and fixing my hair over my left eye. Soon, I could see the school a few blocks down, and a few other people who were in a rush to make it in time for the second bell (the first bell had already rung). I made it in time, sliding through the front doors and running through the halls in an attempt to find my classroom. I still didn't really know my way around the school, even though I had been going there for two years, this being my second one.

The probable reason that I didn't know where any of my classes were yet was most likely because we had only just started school two weeks ago. As such, I still didn't quite understand my route from class to class, and I was still often looking up at numbers to make sure I was going the right way or getting the right classroom.

Of course, today I had to be more of an idiot than usual, and I skidded to a stop in front of a door that I thought led to my first class. I hadn't even checked to see if I was going the right way; I had just guessed without looking since I was in such a rush. I knew that was a mistake as soon as I opened the door.

In front of me, a rather small group of people were standing in a large room that definitely didn't look like a classroom. There were four or five big, plump leather couches that looked like I could sink in, and a fifty-inch plasma screen TV hung up on the wall, turned on quietly and playing an animated movie. There was a deep, emerald green carpet adorning the floor instead of tiles, and the walls were painted a pleasant beige colour. It looked more like a lounge, but it was definitely not the Staff Room, as all of the people standing in the room were very obviously students.

At once, I started to back out of the room-not only because I had mistaken my classroom, but also because there seemed to be a high tension in the air. The people were standing in two loose lines-one looked rather sinister, while the other just looked ticked off but definitely kinder. Not looking behind me, I headed in the direction I had come from, and my back went up against something it shouldn't have, a stand of sorts.

I realized only too late why there would be a stand behind me, and as I turned around to attempt to fix my mistake, I watched as a large statue of a panda (why was there a statue of a panda in the room?) fell over and hit the floor. It cracked, and made a rather large thumping sound that was hard to miss in the tense silence.

I could feel their eyes on me as I stared down at the statue in horror, and heard someone laugh. Great, now I was going to be laughed at for being an utter klutz. I sighed, leaning down to pick it up, but a hand was suddenly on my shoulder. I automatically tensed, but quickly eased up when I realized the person probably didn't mean any harm.

"Don't worry about it," the voice said. It was oddly laid-back, and came out in a slightly lazy drawl, but it was a nice voice, pleasant. It was definitely a boy's voice, but it wasn't deep. I bit my lip, turning to face him and ready to apologize, but as soon as I saw his face I froze. _Impossible_. Red hair surrounded a boyish face in a messy disarray, with one emerald eye staring down at me that did not reveal the same relaxed expression his face did, and the other covered by a black eye-patch. A green headband head his hair back slightly from his eyes, covering most of his forehead it was so wide, and he had an orange scarf around his neck, wearing a simple black t-shirt and a pair of black denim jeans, with green high tops on his feet. There was no mistaking him.

"S…sorry…" I gasped, staring at the boy. Terror gripped at my heart as I stared at the very person from my dreams, mangled and dead on a hospital stretcher.

"What's wrong, stunned by my beauty?" He asked, grinning. The smile didn't reach his eyes, but as he mentioned his looks, I realized that he was rather good looking, with nice, flawless skin that wasn't too pale, but wasn't tanned, and facial features that were both boyish and mature. I supposed most girls swooned over him for his looks, but I wondered if they were turned off by the wild way he dressed.

"I…I just, I thought I've seen you somewhere before." I said, quickly slapping on an abashed grin. I subdued the terror in my heart, and made sure to keep up a pleasant façade so that he wouldn't see it. "I was surprised for a minute there. Sorry for knocking over your…err…panda." I was trying very hard to be as polite and normal as possible, and it seemed difficult for me-I hadn't pretended in a long time. "I'll pay for it if you want."

"Don't worry about it; I've been dying for an excuse to get rid of that thing ever since the old geezer bought it for me. It reminds me way too much of him, but he insisted I put it in here if I wasn't going to keep it in my room." The boy said, closing his one eye in a kind smile. I had a feeling that if his eye had remained open, then it would probably still have that cold, un-reaching gaze. "The name's Lavi Bookman Junior."

"Um…Allen Walker." I blinked, confused by his name. It sounded oddly familiar, but I was more concerned about how strange it sounded.

"Yeah, I know, weird name. The Junior part doesn't really have to be there, but I'm the youngest in my family, and also the successor, so I have to add it on." He said, and then paused. "Well, I guess you can't really understand that…" He scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed way. "Sorry, rambling…"

"Lavi, maybe you should stop." The sound of a girl's voice came from behind the odd, talkative boy, and I leaned around him to find a girl with long black hair that was strangely tinted with some unknown colour, and large violet eyes that shone with kindness and slightly naïve. She wore a simple, long sleeved black shirt and a skirt, and a pair of black boots that went to her shins.

Now that I looked, all of the people there were wearing black. I finally realized where I had stumbled into-a club. Thinking for a minute, I realized what day it was, and why I had seen people rushing, and why no second bell had rung yet. _It's Saturday_. People had been rushing to their clubs. I didn't have any club activities, so I shouldn't have even come to the school. I was, officially, an idiot.

"Uh...I'm really sorry for knocking that over, and for disturbing your club, but I just realized what day it was, so I need to go now." I didn't like having to be so bluntly honest, but I felt stupid standing there and wanted to leave right way. Lavi suddenly laughed, and he turned and put his arm around my shoulder.

"You're one of those ones, huh? Did you forget it was Saturday as you madly rushed out the door thinking you were going to be late?" He asked, giving me a carefree smile that said 'everyone does it at least once'. For some reason, I felt like I was being mocked, as I stood awkwardly with his arm around me. I didn't feel comfortable, with all of these eyes on me. Not one of the people from the group had gone back to doing what they were doing before, fixated on me. Or rather, fixated on the boy beside me, a scowl on some faces and a worry line on others. "Well, why don't you hang out with us for the day! We could use with some new company for once."

"Lavi…" A girl hissed, glaring directly at me instead of who she was addressing. The way she glared at me, it was as if I were the dirtiest thing she had ever seen. I frowned, sure that I looked at least a little tidy, and my clothes were both white and very recently bleached, so I didn't see why she was looking at me like that. I turned my head, pretending to be looking at the wall, and sniffed my shoulder. I smelt fine.

"Fou, relax." Lavi said, tightening his grip around my shoulders. The girl's scowl only deepened, this time landing on Lavi. Her hair was short and pink, covered by a toque, and she wore a black long sleeved shirt that revealed half of her well-toned stomach, and a pair of black, skin tight jeans. She looked like someone I'd rather not cross in a fight, but I doubted I would ever have to worry about a fight in the first place.

"Maybe you should _stop_ relaxing." She snapped, and turned abruptly, stomping to a couch and plopping herself down roughly onto it. Lavi just shrugged, finally letting go of my shoulders.

"Lavi, Fou's right." The girl from earlier-Lenalee, I think her name was-said. She was frowning in obvious worry at something, and glanced at me nervously. I blinked, wondering why none of them seemed to like me being there. I knew I looked like a freak, but they couldn't possibly know just how much. As far as I knew, Master didn't even know the full extent of my curse.

"What's the harm in little Allen here joining us for _one_ measly day?" Lavi asked, frowning. However, there still seemed to be a relaxed manner to everything he did, his hands in his pockets and leaning back slightly as if he were against a wall. He even had one of his feet on top of the other. I wondered how he was keeping balance so easily.

"Today really isn't a good day for you experimenting." A cold voice snapped, and I was surprised to find that it had come from the kinder looking side. Of course, now that I actually looked, I realized that not _all_ of them look kinder. The one who had spoken was an older boy, probably in his senior year, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, still reaching all the way down his back. He had two cold, beady black eyes that didn't look like they had ever stopped glaring, and the way his feminine mouth was set in a frown, I doubted he smiled much either. However, despite the cold manner, he was rather feminine looking, and not only because of his hair. His features were shaped more like a woman's than a man's, and he wore a tight long sleeved black shirt and a pair of neat, straight black jeans that only added to the femininity.

"Awe, Yuu, don't be like that!" the thin black eyebrow, that looked suspiciously like it had been plucked, twitched. "Before you get mad at me, answer my question."

"We don't need a bean sprout interrupting us!" The boy, Yuu, snapped. I realized he was talking about me, and I ground my teeth.

"I am not a bean sprout." I snapped back. I probably shouldn't have gotten angry like that, but I didn't like being called short. Also, Master had a tendency to call me things like that, and though I often tolerated _him_ calling me names (only because I didn't want to get hit) I didn't tolerate it from people I didn't even know.

"Now, now, no fighting." Lavi said, waving his hand in a worried way in front of my face. I felt like biting it, just to see if he would stop being so care-free and actually show a real emotion. I was getting tired of the way his eye was so impenetrable, and how it seemed to have a colder gaze than the boy who had (very rudely) called me a bean sprout.

"Enough of this foolishness," one of the people from the evil side said (okay, I was creeping myself out with my nicknames), and I looked over at them. I was pretty sure the one who had spoken was one of the young men standing there, with black-blue hair that went down to his shoulders in soft waves, covered by a top hat and framing a pale, feminine face that was more pretty than the boy who'd called me a bean sprout. However, he may have had the most menacing gaze I had ever seen, aside from Master, of whom no one could possibly best in being menacing. The boy was, oddly enough, wearing a suit.

"I agree," said a girl who plainly did not look like she belonged in high school. The girl stood at about shoulder height next to the man who had spoken, with spiky blue hair and a pale face that greatly resembled the man, and her piercing cat-like yellow eyes bored into mine. She was wearing a black blazer, a white dress shirt underneath, and a black skirt that reached mid thigh. Insanely enough, she was wearing black and purple striped tights, and a pair of shiny Mary Jane shoes. A pink umbrella with a pumpkin figure on the top of it was in her grasp, and I began to wonder what kind of people these guys really were.

"Nobody asked you," The girl from earlier, Fou, snapped. Lenalee (who I only barely remembered the name of because she was in almost all of my classes) frowned disapprovingly. It was obvious she didn't like fights. My head was starting to hurt from watching these people, and I wanted more than anything to leave now, before I witnessed a fight that was obviously about to happen, all because I had entered the room in the first place.

"That's enough." I jumped, and it wasn't because of how unbelievably stern and cold the voice was, but because it had come from directly beside me. I looked over at Lavi, who still looked extremely relaxed, but I knew the voice had come from him. There was no mistaking it. The only thing that gave it away was how his eye had narrowed a bit more than it had been before.

Everyone in the room was immediately silent, and I took the opportunity to let myself be heard. "Look, I can go, really. I need to go back home, anyways. I have things I need to do." I said, and started to turn. However, a hand grasped my shoulder, and it was almost threatening.

"No, no, Allen. You're staying here with us." Lavi said in the same tone he had been using when he had first spoken to me. I shivered, not liking the way he was able to change moods so abruptly. This room was starting to seem like my master separated into different personalities. I'd rather deal with the real thing than dealing with a bunch of him split up into different personalities.

Now that it had crossed my mind, I counted in my head just how many people there were in here. There were twelve, and it seemed the good and evil sides were split evenly. I wished desperately that they would stop glaring, whether it was at me, at someone on the opposite side, or at the exuberant (and slightly scary) boy beside me.

"Well, it's not like it's that big of a deal anyways," Said the small girl from before. "We're only here for another couple of hours before we leave." I gulped-that meant I would have to be in a room with twelve tense, odd people for another two hours. I had left the usual, emotionless Allen behind as soon as I had opened this door, and now I desperately wanted to go back.

The next two hours were probably the most silent, tense couple of hours I had ever experienced in five years, and it was also insufferably awkward. As soon as the girl had spoken, the 'evil' side had relaxed and all sat down on the two couches on their side of the room, and Lavi pulled me to the couch that was sitting in the middle of the room (the couches were arranged in a sort of arch), and I watched as the six people from the 'good' side all made themselves comfortable on their side. I wondered if this was what it was like all the time.

After that, no one spoke. Lavi had taken a remote control from the arm of the couch they were sitting on, and had turned up the volume. He had then proceeded to changing the channel, and after ten minutes of channel surfing he settled on an old rerun marathon of the Simpsons. No one argued, and every now and then I even heard a chuckle, mostly from two boys who sat extremely close to each other on the evil side, and I thought I had seen their hands twined together. I didn't look at them for long after that, not wanting to intrude on their privacy.

The entire time, I had sat as far away from Lavi as possible, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Despite that, I still felt him like an electric current directly beside me. Maybe it was because of my dream, but for some reason I couldn't help but be aware of him the whole time. Out of all of the people in the room, he was the one who interested me most, and the one that I noticed the most. There seemed to be an air of superiority around him, like he could make anyone do anything for him, and from what had happened earlier I had a feeling I was right.

As soon as the two hours were up, the small girl and the menacing young man stood up, quickly followed by the rest of the room except myself and Lavi. The small girl turned to me just as she was passing the couch, and smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Allen. I look forward to seeing you again, and hopefully we can talk a little more." She winked, as if she was sharing some personal joke with me.

Soon, the room was empty, with only myself, Lavi, and a fidgeting Lenalee at the door. She looked back at Lavi in a nervous sort of way, and then turned back to the door. "I'll see you on Monday, Allen, Lavi." She muttered, and then scurried out of the room. I stared after her, and made to get up, but Lavi made himself known then.

"Thanks," he said, and I paused. I relaxed my legs, falling back into the couch, and stared at him, confused. What was he thanking me for? "You saved my ass back there," he said in a whoosh, relief spreading across his face. "Man, if you hadn't of entered the room I would've had to start a whole peacemaking thing, and then a fight would've broken loose, and who knows what the outcome would've been! Of course, I would sneak out before it got too messy…" he grinned, looking like a mischievous two year old. "But then you came, and everyone started paying attention to you instead of what we were all arguing about. I know I shouldn't of used you like that, but man was I desperate! As soon as everyone's attention was turned to you, I made a decision to keep you around so they couldn't say anything. If you ask me, it was a pretty damn good plan, don't you think?"

He had spoken so fast, I had a hard time processing anything he had said, but when I finally understood, I stared blankly at him. "So basically you used me to get yourself out of a jam." I said, raising an eyebrow. "So you were just thinking about yourself, instead of thinking about the guy you had only just met and decided to make do your dirty work? And without even telling him, on top of that!"

"You're angry…" Lavi stated simply, frowning as if this was a surprise. I glared at him, and an odd sort of anger ran through me. It wasn't the kind of anger I felt with master, where I felt like I wanted to scream and shout and hurt things, but rather a sort of frustrated anger that made me want to cover my face with my hands and pull on my hair because the person in front of me was being stupid. It was the kind of anger you felt for someone you cared about, when you knew they were being stupid or unreasonable and you couldn't do anything about it. I didn't understand why I was feeling it towards this boy I had never even met before. As far as I knew, Lavi actually hated me and was only pretending to be nice (which it sure seemed like,with his creepy emotionless eye) and was also a thief, a liar, and a murderer. I shouldn't technically feel anything towards this boy. The only logical explanation was that I was still shaken from my dream, which was affecting all of my emotions that day, and was making me feel strange because I was facing the one who had been subjected to the dream.

"Yes, I'm angry, and I'm annoyed that someone I never even met before today is using me, and without my permission or knowledge." I said, glaring at him. Lavi smiled sheepishly, his eye closing. His tongue stuck out in a silly manner, and then he opened his eye again and spoke.

"I was in a bit of a desperate situation. You don't know these people! They can be scary once they get into arguments, and if you had to be the one to keep the peace between them, then you wouldn't want to be around when it was broken, either!" He insisted, and I could feel my eye twitching in agitation. Everything he was saying wasn't helping his case, and he seemed to realize that as he leaned back in his seat with a worried sigh. "Alright, this isn't working. How about a different approach…I'm sorry I used you before I even knew your name, and I swear I'll make it up to you by _actually_ letting you off for knocking over the panda. How's that?"

My breath stopped. "What?" I hissed. "The _panda_? You were going to actually make me do something for knocking over a _panda statue_?" I stood up, my fists clenching as I glared down at the boy who was looking up at me innocently, as if he were not completely unreasonable. I turned, stomping out of the room, fuming as I slammed the door loudly behind me, making sure he realized just how pissed off I had become.

I was surprised when I found Lenalee right outside the door, biting her lip and wringing her hands together. When she saw me, her eyes widened and she processed my mood. She obviously saw that I was angry, because she frowned, concern etching itself onto her face. "Oh no…" she muttered, and then approached me. "Please don't be angry with Lavi."

"Why shouldn't I?" I snapped, but immediately reigned in my anger; Lenalee had done nothing wrong, and she didn't deserve to be yelled at. She was too kind to have to deal with someone who had a bad temper (which I did have, when I wasn't ignoring the world), and I tried to smile for her sake. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did." She replied, saying it in such a motherly way I had a hard time not laughing. "Lavi really is a good guy, he just has a tendency to irrational things. He doesn't really think before doing, and it's gotten him a lot of enemies. I was just hoping…you wouldn't hate him for doing that to you." She looked down at the ground, obviously upset. "He seemed to actually like you, you know. As soon as he saw you, it was like he just…relaxed. Maybe it's because of your face."

"My face?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My face was just as cursed as the rest of me, and it actually _showed_ it. The markings on my left eye and the snow white hair were both proof of what I was (although no one knew what that was), and I didn't think I was a very attractive person at all. So why would my face make someone who seemed to show no real emotion relax?

"He saw…" Lenalee hesitated, and then smiled. "I think he saw what everyone sees in you, Allen! Even though you don't really talk to anyone, you always look really kind, just a little out of it. That's not a bad thing, though!" She added quickly, eyes widening. I raised my other eyebrow suspiciously, but I smiled. I couldn't help but think that she had changed what she was actually going to say, though.

"Whatever you say," I said softly. Relief spread across her face before she smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but actually smile back. I had forgotten how kind Lenalee was; she had been one of the people to ask me about my scar once, and she had been so kind about it that even then I had answered with a smile. That was the real reason I had been able to dig out her name from my school memories.

"Thank you for understanding, Allen! I'll see you in class on Monday, then. I need to get going now, though," Lenalee said, and waved before skipping off, obviously happy with her achievement. I watched her go, glad that she hadn't noticed just how angry I really was. I didn't feel like ruining her day; it wasn't like I enjoyed causing people pain, I just liked to try and ignore them.

Even though nothing had really happened, I felt that everything had suddenly changed drastically as soon as I had put my hand on that doorknob. Still annoyed with the redhead, I set off down the hall, mentally counting in my head how many bottles Master had left in the house and how much money, roughly, that would get us for the week.

End Chapter

A/N: As for the whole 'good and evil' thing, it was just Allen using comparisons to comic books, and how it was sort of like a troupe of good guys about to have a face off with all of their worst enemies they've ever had. Just so you know, Allen is a bit immature. I have now officially edited this chapter, although it's probably not much better than the original; this is just temporary. I'll get around to really changing it in a while, when I'm satisfied with where the story's going and I have a good chunk of it done. To new readers-the next chapters are way better.

The pairings are going to take a while to get around to, and I'm sorry for that, but Allen's supposed to be straight for the beginning. I _will_ let you in on a little something, though. Even though Lavi's a bit of a whore with the girls around school (I'll explain in the second chapter), he isn't necessarily…straight.

Thank you for your time, and I now take my leave. I hope this story'll go on till the end, but I'm not completely sure. I guess the only thing that can _really_ keep me going is some nice reviews…If people even like this, that is. Let me know what you think, pretty please!?


	2. Lavi

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man

Allen/Lavi. All other pairings can be voted on. Give me suggestions and I'll count how many are the same, then use those ones…Or something like that. Heh.

Chapter 2: Lavi

_The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs caused his heart to speed up. He had been waiting all morning, to celebrate their one-year anniversary, staring at the small Christmas tree in the corner that seemed to be extremely miniscule compared to the large, grand piano that had just been moved in the other day. Even though no one had told him why the instrument had been brought in, he had is own wild guesses._

_Just as he was about to go and sit on the velvet seat in front of the piano, briefly forgetting about the one year anniversary, had been when he had heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. While silently scolding himself, he made sure his hair was neat and his clothes weren't too messy, and then stood up to stand politely beside the couch, a large smile creeping up on his face._

_The door opened, and he watched as his most favorite person in the world entered, carrying what looked like an extremely large present. _

I woke up with a jolt, and it wasn't because of my alarm clock, but because something large was bouncing on my stomach. I groaned, my eyes opening in the dim light and glancing at the clock. It wasn't even six in the morning yet, and obviously I should still be sleeping as I had only gone to bed about four hours ago, thanks to Master making me get take out food in the middle of the night because he was hungry.

"Go away," I muttered unintelligibly, not even bothering to see what exactly was jumping on me before forcefully turning over and causing whatever it was to clatter to the floor with a loud bang. Startled by the metallic clang that had resounded when the thing hit the floor, I sat up abruptly and found the odd pet-like machine Master had made many years ago, its large golden wings sprawled awkwardly on the floor and its circular body on its side. Even though he was a machine, it had a mouth, and what seemed like a very real tongue (he often licked me like he was a dog), and had two nobly feet coming out of his bottom, which was the reason I was able to tell he was on his side.

"Tim!" I groaned out, leaning down and picking him up by his long tail, which had a large gold feather at its end. I placed the machine on my bed, frowning. "I've told you not to wake me up this early in the morning." Even though Tim didn't speak, he had ways of communicating. Opening his mouth, revealing the sharp teeth that Master had decided to add in, he bit my shirt and began to tug.

Instead of resisting like usual, I let him tug me. I was too tired to do anything else, and wanted to get whatever he wanted me to do done, so that I could crawl back into bed and sleep for at least another three hours before Master woke up. Tim led me down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where Master had fallen asleep on the counter, drool emitting from his wide-open mouth and an occasional snore. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of booze wafted through the air.

"Why do you want me in here?" I asked Tim, who had let go of my shirt. He flew over to Master, disappeared for a second in the crevice of the man's neck, and then reappeared with a piece of paper. He flew back over to me, the piece of paper hanging limply from his mouth. I grabbed it, and stared down at the sheet. It was from my school.

All it said was that there was a parent-teacher interview happening that day, from one in the afternoon to six in the evening. I blinked several times, looking down at the messy scrawl that was very obviously Master's, reading _6:15, special appointment. Rm. 213, bring the kid._ I stared blankly at the sheet of paper for a very long moment, and then I felt my eye twitch in agitation. I raised the paper slowly, making the writing face Tim directly in the (would be) face.

"It says six-fifteen _p.m._, Tim. Not _a.m.,_" I said through gritted teeth, and I watched as Tim flew to his master's side, his entire form quivering. Trying not to tear the piece of paper into bits, I clenched and unclenched my fists, and then, breathing through my nose, I brought the paper and placed it beside Master's head. I gave one last glare to Tim, and then stomped out of the room and back up the stairs.

I had been woken for nothing, and now that I was up there was no way I would be able to fall back asleep. Yawning from obvious exhaustion, I opened my bedroom door and stared longingly at my bed, but I knew that if I tried to go back to sleep I would just end up laying there for hours until it was too late to be able to actually sleep, and then it would've been pointless anyways.

"I'm going to bed extra early tonight," I muttered, dragging my feet to my desk and dropping myself into the chair with a huff. I rested my elbow on the desk and leaned on my arm, then stared helplessly out the window my desk faced. Until yesterday, I had been covering my window with curtains that perfectly matched the walls, but I had decided to pull them back in order to bring a little more life into the room.

As I stared out the window now, I realized that the street I lived on was very boring, and very common. Trees lined either side of the street, currently still green though there were a few that were already starting to orange, and every house was the same plain, two story high, white house. Very few in the neighborhood looked any different.

It had been a miracle for Master to actually find a house for rent in one of the more normal neighborhoods of the town, as most neighborhoods were a bit less normal, a lot of them known to host parties every weekend that generally half the town would attend. I was pretty sure Master himself joined in on a few of them sometimes. Then there were the over exaggerated neighborhoods, with the too-large houses and the too-large lawns and fences, with oak trees and long driveways and private property signs.

I didn't like those streets. There were about three of them in this town, and I very often tried my hardest to avoid them. I had been forced to go through one every now and then, but so far I had been able to keep a fairly wide berth from those streets. They reminded me all too much of my poverty. Tired of looking out the window, I stood up.

Unsure of what to do with my day, I walked back down the stairs and slipped into the living room. I glanced at the dismal amount of DVDs we owned, and grimaced. Glancing down at my undressed body, I made a quick decision and ran back upstairs. When I burst into my room, I reached into my closet and grabbing a pair of dark blue denim jeans and a blue t-shirt that said 'I don't really care', and then slipped on my white gloves and my white hoodie, then rushed back downstairs.

Making sure Master didn't hear me, I went to the front closet and slid it open slowly, then I reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill, sliding the closet door shut just as silently. Absently slipping on my skate shoes, I opened the door slowly and then stepped outside into the fresh air. I pulled the door shut with a soft click and then rushed down the three steps and onto the path, then opened and closed the gate just as silently as the door.

As soon as I was on the sidewalk, I relaxed, and walked along the trees while whistling tunelessly. My mind strayed through different events in my high school, as I was now determined to remember as much of my school days as possible to see if I had ever met any of the people I had seen yesterday. Mostly, I was trying to recall the redheaded Lavi, whose name had been oddly familiar.

My search seemed to be bringing up nothing, though, and I quickly tried to find a different pass time before I got frustrated with myself.

I settling on recalling random pieces played on the piano, and trying to name all of them from their original composers, their original names, and their original year of creation. It was enough to keep me occupied all the way to my destination, which was a small video store that had a small handful of females working for it, all of whom I had met many times and had made idle chatter with every now and then, when I was in a better mood than usual.

Pushing the glass door open, I entered the movie store, which smelt strongly of cats, sweets, and various other smells I couldn't identify. I did recognize the smell of perfume amongst them, probably coming from the kind, young woman behind the desk. When she heard the bell on the door ring, she looked up from a magazine she had sprawled on the lower counter, and smiled at me. I returned the smile, then went along to the New Movie wall, ignoring the brief look of surprise that had flitted across her expression.

It only took me a few minutes to settle on a new action movie, one that I knew Master would like (so he would hopefully forgive me for taking his money) and a slightly older angst movie that was probably going to be moved to the old movie section within the next two weeks. It had been a long while since I had bothered watching anything new, and it had looked remotely interesting compared to the other movies, so I had grabbed it and gone to the desk before I could change my mind.

The woman gave me something of a tender smile when I reached the counter, and I tried to give her the most normal smile I could possibly give. It seemed to work, because some of the tenderness left and was replaced by mere familiarity. "Hullo, dear." She said, taking the movies from me and opening the cases. "You're sure up early for the weekend."

"Not by choice, I assure you." I replied, smiling grimly. The woman laughed, finishing with the movies and placing them on the other side of her. After giving her my number, paying her and saying goodbye, I passed through the scanners and through the door, glaring up at the sky, which was still a little dark. I was glad that the movie store here opened earlier than most, at six instead of seven or eight, on Sundays.

Bringing my arms behind my head, I began to walk, staring up at the sky and once again thinking of school. Where had I heard Lavi's name? I knew I had seen or heard it somewhere, and now that I couldn't remember I was beginning to get frustrated, despite my best efforts not to. It hadn't been from any of my classes, since he looked like he was at least a year older than me, and I was sure that I would at least remember the bright red hair if he had ever spoken to me before.

_Maybe I saw him in the halls…no, of course not, idiot! You always keep your head down in the halls to avoid eye contact, remember? It helps you get through the halls faster-or at least that's what you told yourself…agh! I'm getting off track. If it wasn't in the halls, then maybe it was during lunch when I went outside…no, because I always go to the same spot, and no one _ever_ goes there besides me… wow. Allen Walker, you are a loner. _"Arg! Why am I talking to myself?!" I snapped out loud, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

"You were talking to yourself?" I jumped, turning abruptly. The first thing I noticed was the bright red hair, and then I noticed the casual stance and the fact that he was facing the same way I was. Had he been walking beside me this whole time? "Hiya, Mister Allen Walker, grade eleven, homeroom 213, and top of his grade!"

"How do you know that?" I asked, blinking in astonishment, and then I shook my head. "Forget that-how long have you been standing there for?"

"Standing? No, no, Allen. _We've_ been _walking_. Remember?" he blinked, or winked, I wasn't sure which one. "I've been following you since you left the movie store. By the way, since that was where I was heading, do you think you could come back with me? I mean, it _is_ your fault that I didn't end up going where I wanted."

"It is _not_ my fault!" I snapped, glaring at Lavi. He just grinned, crossing his arms and standing up a little straighter.

"Come on, please?" he asked, and pulled his face from a grin to a pout. For a brief moment, he looked so much like a puppy I had a hard time not patting him on the head. Getting a hold on myself, I crossed my arms and imitated his stance.

"No. It was your choice to follow me, not mine. If you want to go and get movies, then you can do it on your own." I replied stiffly. The pout seemed to turn more pronounced, but I could see something like amusement tugging at his lips. His eye remained as impenetrable as yesterday, however, and for some reason this seemed to bug me more than anything else about him.

"You're not a very nice person, Allen. Maybe I should add that to my list…" He trailed off abruptly. I blinked, confused as he leaned forward suddenly, peering at my face. It took me a moment to realize where exactly his eyes were, and I quickly hurried to hide the star shape on my forehead with my hair, which had fallen out of place during the walk. The pout turned into a slightly concentrated frown. "Allen-"

"Stop addressing me like you know me," I snapped, hurrying to cut him off from asking the question I knew he would ask.

"Touchy!" Lavi remarked, leaning back again. Although his expression was relaxed, there was a slightly more stiff way he held himself now. "So, what do you say to that movie store? That way, you can tell me what a teenaged boy is doing up at six in the morning on a weekend." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He seemed to fidget a lot, as if he were unable to stand still.

"I already told you-" I began.

"I know, I know. It was my choice to follow you. But I wasn't asking because of that. I was just asking. I mean, you were the one who _just_ said that I didn't know you, right? Or at least, that's what you implied. So why don't we take the opportunity of this extremely convenient chance meeting to ask a few questions? Come on, what do you say?" he said, nudging me on the shoulder.

"Will you leave me alone after this if I do?" I asked, glaring at him as if he were the reason there were kids starving in Africa.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" He said dismissively, waving his hand in the air. I glared, not liking to too-vacant way he had said it.

"Why are you so determined to ruin my morning?" I asked harshly, and he looked down at me, surprised.

"I'm not." He said, and I realized I had actually shocked him with my question. Even his eyes, which were always so cold no matter how he acted, had widened a bit. I regretted my question, wishing I had been able to hold in my anger. "I just thought that maybe you'd like to talk, after what happened yesterday."

"Nothing _happened_ yesterday," I replied curtly. "I walked in on some weird club and knocked over a panda, then you decided to force me to sit on a couch for two hours because you didn't want to get in trouble. End of story." I paused, and cocked my head to the side. "By the way, why are there couches and a flat screen TV in our school?"

"Oh, that?" Lavi paused for a second, seeming to deliberate something, and then shrugged. "The room's usually locked. It used to be the staff room, but they changed to the larger room in the office, so the old geezer-I mean, my grandpa, asked if the club-that is, the club I'm a part of-could use the room for their activities. Of course, the teachers said yes, since it would never become a classroom because of the carpet. It was either drag everything out and completely redo the whole room, or just give it up to the club and be done with it."

"Oh…" I hadn't been expecting something so normal. I guess I had been imagining things like an extremely rich group of students who had all gotten together and decided they needed a better classroom and clubroom than everyone else. "What's your club about anyways?"

"How about I tell you while we head back to the movie store? We're pretty far away-you were out of it for a while." Lavi added, and I blinked. I had been completely sidetracked by my own curiosity, and I cursed myself for having to ask him a question. He seemed pleased that he had actually gotten my attention.

"Ugh, fine," I muttered. Lavi grinned so wide, I wondered how his mouth didn't hurt.

"Excellent!" he chimed, and turned around. He started to walk, and I hurried after him. "Now, about your question…this is sort of difficult. See, or club is made up of students who exceed in schooling and show potential to get into really famous schools and get really rich. Basically, the club was made so that we could be in an environment that suited us better, with people who could actually understand us and have civil conversations with. Although, sometimes I wonder if some of them are really eligible for the club, or for being recognized." Lavi's face screwed up in thought, and I stared at him for a long moment, almost tripping on a bump in the sidewalk. Was he serious?

"They made a club…for rich people?" I asked. Lavi looked down at me, frowning. I didn't like the fact that he was taller than me.

"No." he replied. "For smart people, who show promise."

"That's still…sort of bizarre, isn't it?" I asked.

"Not really. I mean, sure, it's not really that much of a _club_, more like something of a weekly gathering. I mean, some of us are a part of a different club still; we just don't go on Saturdays. It's just a relief to get away once a week. The principle was the one who suggested it. Of course…there was one person who ended up not accepting the invitation, which was odd." Lavi paused for a moment. "No, they didn't decline, they just…didn't answer. At all. After the invitation was handed to him, he never replied."

"Why would he do that?" I asked. Even though it was definitely weird to have that kind of a club, I didn't see why anyone wouldn't want to join.

"Honestly, I don't think he quite realized what he was being given. I think Lenalee said that he looked at it, shrugged, and chucked it in his bag without even reading anything." Lavi replied, and peered down at me from the corner of his eye. I blinked, realization slowly sinking into me. I was supposed to have been the one to join the club. Now I felt like an idiot.

"Oh." I muttered. We turned a corner, and the video store came into view. Relief spread through me-I didn't want to be around Lavi much longer, as I only seemed to end up feeling more like an idiot than usual. Then it occurred to me- "What place are you in the school?" I rushed out, my eyes widening. Lavi blinked, confused by my question. Realizing that it hadn't made much sense, I rephrased it. "I mean, what place are you, out of all of the school, with your marks?"

"Oh, that!" Lavi said, realization running across his face. "First," he replied casually. I blinked, and something like agitation rose up in me. Now I remembered. His name had been the one that had been my obstacle to first place for the past two years. How could someone like him, irritating and rude, be so intelligent? I knew that our school was a very good school, one of the best in the whole province, so was he actually that smart?

"I can't believe that," I stated. Lavi chuckled.

"Sure you can, Allen! I'm attractive intelligent, charming…don't tell me you didn't notice?" he gave me a pout, as if he were offended. I glared at him.

"Yeah, in your head." I said, and looked away.

"That wasn't very nice!" Lavi wined, and I shrugged.

"It's not my fault your ego's too big for your head." I replied, and there was a moment of silence. Then, Lavi burst out laughing, and I jumped from the sudden noise. I turned to find he had stopped, keeling over in his sudden laughter. I waited for him to finish, wondering why he was laughing so hard. It took him a couple of minutes, but Lavi stood up, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"Thank you, Allen. I think you're the first person who hasn't known me for over a year to tell me that." He said, and I tried to trace any hint of sarcasm, but it seemed he was being completely serious, though maybe a little joking.

"I guess people like giving you what you want, then, because I don't know how anyone couldn't see it." I said, and started walking again. He quickly caught up with me, the tears from his laughter still in his one showing eye.

"No, not really. Actually, it's just because the girls seem to like the fact that I am very confident of myself," he gave me what I presumed was supposed to be a charming smile. I cringed in disgust at how carelessly he had said that, wondering just how many girls had found him _confident_. Thinking back to my analogy yesterday on the personalities of the people in that club, I figured Lavi was Master's womanizing side. "That reminds me, I have a date today at three…oh yeah, and dinner, too."

"I hope with the same girl," I said coldly, fearing that my prediction was correct. Lavi shrugged, and we came to a stop in front of the movie store. I hadn't realized that we had already reached it.

"No," he said. "I'm meeting a European model I met yesterday on the streets for lunch, and then I'm meeting a girl from school at a small restaurant then heading off to a movie with her." I blinked, staring at him in shock. He had just openly admitted that he was going to be dating two girls on the same day, and he didn't seem to be showing any shame at all.

"Do you even care about their feelings? Don't you think you should show them a little more trust?" I asked, but Lavi opened the movie store door and entered. I quickly followed after him, waiting to hear my answer. He was thoughtful for a little while, as we passed the movie store lady (who was a little surprised to see me again), and went to the New Movie wall. Finally, he answered.

"Well, I already know the girl from school has a boyfriend-" I gawked at him, surprised and disgusted "-and the model will only be here for another couple of days, so there's really no problem. I mean, if they know and I know that it's just going to be a one night stand because of the circumstances, then there should be no real problem, right?" he glanced down at me with his one cold eye. He wasn't joking any more.

"It's still disrespectful, and disgusting. You're even making a girl cheat on her own partner!" I replied vehemently, and Lavi once again shrugged.

"Well, it shouldn't matter to you anyways. It's none of your business what I do with my life, just like it's none of my business what you do with yours. We're two very different people, Allen, and we see things differently, so there's no need to get all huffy because I'm doing what I always do." He said, and I stared at him for a very long moment, lost for words. For a while, nothing was said, Lavi staring at the movies before him while I went over what he said in my mind. "Ah, this one looks like fun," Lavi said suddenly, and he pulled from the shelf directly in front of him the same movie I had gotten for Master. "You wanna see this one?"

"Why're you asking me?" I asked, probably more snappier than I should have.

"Just wondering. If you want to see it, then it adds to the list of people who do, and the more people who want to see it, the better chances it'll be a good movie." He said, and I couldn't help but agree with him. I shrugged.

"It looks alright, but I'm not really into action movies." I said, and Lavi grinned. He seemed pleased that I had actually answered him honestly and without saying something rude to add in there. He grabbed the rental case that was left and put the display case back, then moved to the next shelf. "How many movies are you getting?"

"I don't know, however many I see fit. I feel like having a movie night tonight, after I get back from the date." He said, and then looked at me. "Would you like to join me, Allen?" For a moment, his careless self was back, and then he was frowning again. I wondered if our previous conversation had really upset him that much.

"It's a school night," I said. Lavi laughed.

"So? If I don't go to sleep, then I'll be able to go to school, won't I?" He said. His crazy theories (that unfortunately I had to agree with) were starting to confuse me. He grabbed another movie, and then went on to the next section of shelves. "Tomorrow's going to have all easy lessons, since every class I have is just finishing up on a unit. It's just going to be review, and I don't need it, so if I fall asleep during class then no one will care. Besides, Yuu will wake me up."

"Yuu?" I asked. I recalled him saying the same name yesterday, addressing the boy with the too-long hair and the seemingly permanent frown.

"Yeah. He's my class mate, and a club member." Lavi said, and went on to the next section of movies without grabbing one from the other. "Kind of grumpy, but whatever. He's a good guy once you get on his good side."

"You do realize I have no idea what or who you're talking about, right?" I asked, although admittedly I _was_ pretty sure it was the too-long hair guy.

"Yeah, right, sorry. I thought every one knew him, but I guess you don't." Lavi winked, or blinked, again I wasn't sure which. "Anyways, I think I'm done here. These three seem good enough." He turned away from the wall and went to the counter, where the woman took the movies and went through the same procedure she had gone through with myself.

"You're up early this morning," She said, while typing in a code from inside the DVD case. "Phone number, please?" Lavi recited a seven digit number, then gave another of those smiles that were supposed to be charming. Apparently, it worked on females. The woman's cheeks suddenly turned slightly red, and she quickly glanced back down at her work.

"Thank you very much," Lavi said, and it really sounded like he meant it, as he went through the security scanners and grabbed the DVDs she had placed on her other side. Her cheeks turned more red, and she gave a small sound from the back of her throat that I guessed was supposed to be a 'you're welcome'. Following after Lavi, we stepped outside and once again into the fresh air.

"Why _are_ you up so early anyways?" I asked, as we began to walk in the opposite direction than before. In some part of my brain, I knew I was going the wrong way, but curiosity had suddenly struck me hard. It _was_ a bit off for someone who seemed to relaxed and sort of lazy to be up so early one a weekend.

"That old geezer-I mean, my grandpa-woke me up this morning to get some work done for him. I finished early, so I decided to come over here and find some movies to watch." Lavi shrugged. "Just wasting time before I start getting on with my day. Why're you up so early?"

"Err…" How did I explain a big golden pet trying to tell me to get ready for an appointment not happening for another twelve or so hours?

"Never mind." Lavi said abruptly, almost impatiently, stopping. I came to a halt, looking at him curiously. "By the way, you're walking the wrong way." I didn't want to admit that I knew that, so I pretended to be surprised by my mistake and looked back.

"Oh," I said, and then turned back to him. "Right." I had a feeling that him telling me this was to get rid of me. Had I bothered him that much? I knew that he bothered me plenty, but it was more of just a sort of annoyance. I actually enjoyed being in his presence, now that I had actually talked to him in a more civil manner than our first meeting. I guess I had been wrong in assuming he felt the same. "Well, bye."

"Yeah. Bye." For a moment, Lavi seemed so cold that the shiver suddenly running down my spine had nothing to do with the chill of the morning air. Then, his expression relaxed. "I'll see you around, probably. This town really isn't all that big, so we'll probably run into each other again." He paused, and with a thoughtful expression he leaned forward and brushed back my hair, staring at the star on my forehead for a long moment. His gaze narrowed, and his brows furrowed. "That really is interesting…" he muttered, and then let go of my hair. His touch lingered, making me want to scratch the area he had touched.

Before I could comment on his strange behavior, he was walking away. Staring blankly after him, I wondered what had just happened, and then turned and began to walk back towards my own house.

Walking back home was quiet, after I had gotten used to someone talking to me. Thinking back on our conversation, I realized we actually hadn't been talking for very long, we had just said a lot in a short period of time. Also, there had been no real conversations, just questions and answers, never sticking to one subject for too long before another question had come to my mind and we were talking about something different. It had been easy to forget what we had been talking about, what with the questions he had brought up within my mind.

However, I was beginning to regret going back to the movie store with him. Although speaking with him had been interesting, he had irritated me more than anything in the end. Knowing that his argument about our differences was true, I couldn't help but be aggravated. I was being foolish and childish, but I didn't like losing to an argument to anyone besides Master. But what really irked me was that he was better than me, and the fact that he was able to work me up this much without actually giving me a reason to be angry was extremely frustrating.

Another thing that irritated me was that I didn't even know the redhead, yet he had casually pursued me down the street like we were old friends. I didn't even know what grade he was in, how old he was, or what kind of people he hung around. Judging from his classmate and club mate, Yuu, he didn't hang out with very nice people. I also had no idea if he was really the carefree, laid back person he had been so far around me, or if he was actually someone who was sullen and absolutely hated life and would do anything to get a nice, easy way out. During my two brief meetings with him, he had stuck by my first impression: someone who refused to be anyone but himself, but how did I know if that was actually true?

I didn't even know as much about him as he did about me, which was equally annoying. I wanted very much to know exactly how he had found out all of that information about me, because he surely did not pursue Lenalee just to find out more about me. Or…did he? Now that I thought about it, I didn't even know enough about him to know if he would go to that extant to learn more about a person.

All in all, he had left me with a sense of foreboding, and slightly irked. I had left the house to get some fresh air and find something to do, and had come back annoyed and wanting more than anything to go back to my usual careless self that I had been on Friday. I _was_ glad that I had been so occupied by my thoughts of the seemingly self-centered boy named Lavi, because it had left me no room to think of the consequences coming for when I entered the house. All too soon, I was standing in front of the door, staring at the knob with deep reluctance. I could feel something looming behind the door, and dreaded opening it.

Sucking it up and opening the door, I entered quietly. Although there was no sound, the light was now on in the kitchen and in the living room. It was obvious Master was up, because he was the only one out of the two of us who always left the lights on wherever he went. "Master?" I called cautiously. There was a loud bang in the direction of the living room, and I reluctantly slipped off my shoes and stepped into the living room. Master had been drinking from a mug of water, and it was obvious by the mini storm inside of it that it had been the victim of his loud slamming. I gulped, looking at the wild mane of red hair rather than directly into his narrowed eyes.

"You took my money," he immediately accused without greeting. I winced, noticing that his eyes were bloodshot from the previous night and what was probably a major hangover. "Why the hell did you do that, idiot boy, when you knew we were extremely short on money for this month?"

"Well then maybe you should stop buying drinks," I replied coldly but calmly. "Besides, it was only a five dollar bill."

"What did you say to me?" Master said through clenched teeth, and I could see his fists tightening. Avoiding his gaze still, I just shook my head.

"Nothing, never mind." I replied, and chucked the action movie onto the table. "I got that for you-thought you might like it." I left before he could say anything, fleeing to my room. As soon as I was inside, I wished I was back outside. Being inside the house suddenly felt very cramped, and, glancing at the clock, I saw that I still had another eleven hours before the conference. With a heavy sigh, I plopped myself onto my bed and thought.

I could always go out, and explore the town for a little while. That would be a nice change in pace, as I had never really taken the time to do so. That way, I could get a good look at the shops for when I had enough money to go shopping. The idea was more intriguing that anything else I could conjure up, so I went back downstairs and ignored the sounds of the television-it sounded like Master had turned on the news, and was muttering to himself about crazy lunatics who wore uniforms for schools.

I slipped my shoes on again, and went back outside. The fresh air immediately made me feel better, a little less irritated by my too-long morning, and I stepped back out onto the street. My journey began, and I started by going the opposite direction I had gone this morning, heading towards the center of town.

("…")

I was gone for a long time, and by the time I had explored all of the downtown area it was already three in the afternoon. Happy with my days work of investigating the town, I headed back towards my house, passing by a group of teenagers around my age. When I went by them, I smelt the distinct scent of cigarette smoke, and tried to hold back my revulsion.

My mind solely on escaping the smell of smoke, I was not expecting the voice calling me back. "Hey, kid!" I looked back automatically, surprised, and immediately regretted my choice of action. I recognized the guy who had called me immediately-it was the one with the menacing eyes. I should have known by the sound of the silky voice who it was, it was hard to forget a voice like that. My response seemed to cause a small, sinister smile to play at his lips, and he took a long drag from the cigarette he held between his thumb and index finger.

"Err, hi." I said, nervous. I watched him flick the cigarette down to the ground carelessly, not even stepping on it to put out the small red embers.

"You're that guy-Allen, right?" he said, and his voice was silky, something hidden in there that made my insides coil. His neat, wav black hair was tied into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, and he still had a top hat on his head. However, he wore a black turtleneck and black, sleek pants today instead of a suit.

"Uh…yeah," I said, reluctantly. Why couldn't I just turn around and keep walking?

"Want to come and hang out? We could show you a good time, you know, get you a girl for the night-" there were sniggers all around him, the menacing faces of his friends all staring at me pointedly. "I'm sure you'd have a lot of fun."

"Err…" for some reason, I was unable to form an intelligible response, the words that I wanted to say always slipping away when I was about to say something.

"C'mon, don't be such a chicken," he said, leering at me. He was leading me on, I knew, but it had no effect on me. I had received much of this from Master, and after six years I had mastered how to ignore it.

"I…uhm…" I didn't know what to say. On one hand, I really just wanted to leave this guy behind, since he sort of scared me, but on the other, I didn't want to get on his bad side. Even though I had no real experience, I knew that people my age were very prone to violence, and I didn't feel like experiencing my first fight.

"I promise you, you won't be harmed, not one bit. You'll return to your house by morning safe and sound." He said this in a jeering tone, and I had a strange feeling that he wasn't being in the least bit truthful. He seemed like the kind of person who could be _very_ sinister.

"Leave him alone, would you?" the voice made me stop cold, and I swallowed nervously, glancing behind the pretty, malicious man who was pursuing me. Red hair stood out prominently in the dull colors of gray and black and white, and I was actually sort of relieved to see Lavi. I was wondering, however, why he had ended up in yet another place I was.

"Oh, it's you," The man's (he wasn't really all that much of a boy in looks) face immediately fell as he turned to face Lavi. It was obvious that he would listen to the redhead, though for what reason I didn't know. Now that I thought of it, yesterday it had been Lavi to tell the room to be silent, and Lavi to keep the peace. Exactly what role did he play in this supposedly innocently formed club? "Why are you here?"

"Personal business, Mikk." Lavi replied, hostile. My eyes drifted to the woman beside him, her face sharp and angular, with penetrating blue eyes and full, pouty lips covered in a thin layer of glossy lip gloss. She had on light eye makeup, but in my opinion she didn't need it. She was very beautiful, and I didn't think Lavi was lying at all when he had said he was taking out a model. Her hair was tied into a complicated, intricate bun that looked like it had taken hours to create, but her bangs hung loosely and without product around her angular face. She wore expensive clothing- a pair of expensive looking casual, skin tight jeans with black boots that reached to her knees, and a black long sleeved shirt that looked so stylish, it was probably right out of her modeling wardrobe.

"Then why don't you bring it somewhere else? Little Allen here doesn't need your help; he's a grown boy." There was more chortling from his friends, and Lavi grimaced. He sent a glare in their direction, ten times worse than the cold gaze I had received when he had said goodbye to me, and they immediately shut up. He returned his attention to the (young) man.

"I'm sure he doesn't mind my assistance. In my opinion, he seems to be at a loss for words he doesn't want to be near you so badly. Must you affect everyone this way, Mikk?" Lavi replied coldly, and I mentally took note that I never wanted to be on his bad side. The man, Mikk, grimaced, and turned back to me.

"Excuse my rudeness," he said in a stiff and formal voice. "I apologize deeply."

"Err…" I found myself saying again, and gave an impish smile. "Yeah, sure." A couple of his friends gave me disgusted looks, and others looked amused at my stupid response. They probably thought me incompetent.

"Allen, why don't you join Alice and I?" Lavi said, still cold, though his tone was much lighter now that he was addressing me. Grateful, I quickly hurried across the crowd of people and joined Lavi. Nothing was said and Lavi took the model by her arm and began walking, while I hastily followed. After we were well over a block away, Lavi let out a whooshing sigh of relief and wiped his brow.

"Why're you so relaxed?" I asked, feeling the exact opposite; I was now extremely tense, knowing that my interaction with that man, Mikk, had probably not given me the best of reputations with him. Lavi chuckled.

"He's nothing to be scared of. Just a pansy." He said in a leisurely sort of way. "Hs name's Tykki Mikk, and he's got some brains all right-but he doesn't know how to use them. Of course, you and I are still better than him-he's only fifth in the school."

"Oh…" I muttered, thought I wasn't sure why Lavi was sharing this information with me.

"By the way, Allen, the next time you get yourself caught up in a mess like that, I'm going to join in leering with them. You were a total idiot there." The gratitude I had been feeling for Lavi disappeared immediately, along with any feelings of liking towards him. Grinding my teeth, I thought of Master on the couch watching the news, and wondered what he'd think about what had happened today. _He'd probably just laugh at my pathetic ness,_ I decided. Too bad the ambulance came zooming buy right then, its sirens ringing loudly.

End Chapter

A/N: Okay, so it was actually longer than the last chapter by a bit. I'm kind of proud of myself, but I guess it's not really good for you, having to read monster chapters. I just couldn't fit everything I wanted into only five or six pages, though, and I still didn't get in everything I actually wanted to get into this chapter, so I decided to just attempt a cliffy and try and work with that so that I could continue easily with the next chapter.

A reminder to vote for any additional pairings, although I have no clue what pairings I should say as options. Lavi and Allen cannot be included in any of the pairings, though, but I think that should be a bit obvious.

I hope this diminished any confusion with the club, and that I was able to get Lavi into Allen's life a little more. Next chapter it'll be at school, so it'll take me a bit to write it, but I hope this is enough until then.

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, and I hope I continue to please. (grins) Reviews are very welcome, as constructive criticism is always necessary.


	3. Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man

Lavi/Allen, other pairings unknown until further notice (tell me what pairings you want, and if a lot of people want them then I'll add them in here).

Chapter 3: Decisions

_The door was slightly ajar, and he could hear voices behind it, hushed and very obviously aggravated. In the background, soft piano music played that he identified as Mozart. He recognized both of the voices behind the door-the man who had showed up at their house that day was still here. He didn't like that man; he was rude and sort of scary, with a heavy scent of cigarettes and booze emitting from him._

"…_Don't know why you sunk so low as to adopt a kid off the streets, Mana." At the sound of his father figure's name, he stopped. No one spoke his name very often, and when they did it usually meant they were being very serious. Even he himself rarely used his father's name. "You know what you've done, and if anything happens to you, you'll end up dumping it on that little brat."_

"_I won't have you speaking about him like that," His father spoke, and his voice was colder than he had ever heard it._

"_Yeah, sure, the kid seems to be a genius, but that doesn't mean anything! Don't you understand that you're just going to dig yourself deeper into the pit if you keep digging yourself into this hole?" The boy suppressed a gasp-was he really that much of a toll on his new father? There was a long pause, and his fears were confirmed. Upset by this news, he slipped away before anything else was said, preparing the things he would need in order to survive on his own for a few nights._

The sound of the ambulance zooming by nearly caused my heart to stop. I watched it go by, my heart beating fast, all worries of Lavi long forgotten as fear built up inside of me like a volcano ready to erupt. My breathing came in short gasps and my mind went blank. I was hardly aware of the hands that had caught me, for I had obviously fallen from lack of support in my knees, and paid more attention to trying to coil up inside my mind into a dark corner, where everything would just disappear.

"Allen!" The voice pulled me back up, but only because it had been so angry, frustrated. Why was he mad at me? I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them in the first place. Lavi was hovering above me, looking furious, but for some reason I had a feeling it wasn't directed towards me. As soon as my eyes opened, however, relief flooded into his face. "Christ, kid! Don't scare me like that!"

"Don't use the C word, there could be kids around," I muttered, the first thing that came to my mind. Lavi raised an eyebrow.

"Right, well…I'm pretty sure no one but you could be considered a kid around here," He said, and grinned suddenly. I smiled a little, too, and then straightened myself. After getting my brain in order, I took a few deep breaths, and then turned to look at Lavi. "What was that all about?"

"It was nothing," I said, trying to smile again but failing. "You know…I think I'm just going to go home now…" I muttered, a little embarrassed. "Sorry for the trouble…with Tykki, too." I began to turn, but Lavi scoffed, shaking his head, and grabbed my wrist.

"Nuh uh, I want an explanation." He replied. "You can't just go fainting on me like that and then expect to just leave. Nope, I won't let you leave until you've explained yourself." I glared at him, and his expression clearly stated that he was daring me to try and run. So I did run. I turned, making him release his grip on me, and I started running as fast as I could from the spot that he and the model were standing. My cheeks were red from embarrassment as I tried to reason with myself that I was not being a coward and maybe even a little childish for making such a rash decision, but just putting off an inevitable conversation for later.

I stopped running when I was almost half way to my house, but was tempted to start running again when I heard footfalls behind me. I was too tired however, so instead I just admitted defeat and looked back, the now familiar red hair the first thing I noticed as Lavi gained on me, clearly enjoying himself. I wondered how he could still be so exhilarated and amused when I had just deliberately tried to leave him in the dark. He probably just thought of all of this as a game-it definitely didn't speak out of what little I knew of him.

He came to a halt in front of me, still obviously highly amused with the little tug at the corner of his lips, his eyes an impenetrable as ever. "Allen…don't…run off…like that!" He gasped, keeling over. I looked behind him, but there was no sign of the model.

"Where's…your date?" I asked, still panting a little. Lavi stood up a little straighter, clutching his chest.

"I told her…to wait for me." He muttered, and looked a little guilty for a moment. "She's…waiting for me…at a coffee shop."

"Oh," I said, and turned. I ignored him, going at a fast walk towards my house, and he quickly caught up with me.

"What are you doing, anyways?" he appeared to have caught his breath.

"Trying to escape," I replied bitterly and sarcastically. Lavi didn't say anything, but I was pretty sure I heard him chuckling. We walked in silence all the rest of the way to my house, and whenever it looked like Lavi was going to ask me a question I covered my ears like a two year old. This only seemed to amuse the redhead even more. We reached my house, and I looked back at Lavi. "Are you coming in?" Lavi looked at the small house for a moment before turning to me.

"I think I'll just wait here, I'd rather not intrude," he said sheepishly, showing the first sign of actual manners towards me. I raised both eyebrows, staring down at him suspiciously.

"What's with that?" I asked, and he looked at me, confused. I shook my head, knowing I didn't make any sense, and turned. "I don't know what makes you think I'll be coming back out." I stepped through my yard and into my house, and the first thing I noticed was the dead silence. No lights were on, and I didn't hear the TV in the living room, nor the usual snores from Master.

My throat tightening, I walked into the kitchen first. Tim was there, resting on a peace of paper, which I grabbed quickly.

_Hey kid,_

_I just had to take a ride to the hospital, something came up. Don't bother coming to check on me. It wasn't me who was hurt._

_Have dinner ready when I get home._

At the bottom were the initials C.M., Master's initials. I stared blankly down at the sheet, and wondered why he had to get himself into constant trouble. Sighing in frustration, I sat down on a stool and let myself fall forward, my forehead connecting hard with the table. I wasn't sure if I had known the moment the ambulance had gone by that there was something wrong, but I was beginning to wonder if there was anything more Master could do to me to ruin my life.

Something was definitely off, though. Why would Master take a ride in an ambulance without it being him who was hurt? Usually, he would avoid them just as much as me. Did that mean he had someone over? I sat on the stool thinking things over for a total of five minutes before I realized I had forgotten something.

"Oh, crap!" I cursed, and sat up abruptly. Glad I hadn't bothered to take my shoes off, I rushed outside, and a startled Timcanpy followed after me. Lavi was leaning against the almost waist-high fence, looking as bored as ever and picking at his (very short) nails. "Why are you still here?" I asked, confused. Admittedly, I had come out because I had remembered him, but I had half expected him to be gone, having grown impatient with me and realizing that I had stayed true to the threat that I would not come back out.

"I was waiting for you," Lavi said with a shrug, looking up. "I mean, you nearly gave me a heart attack after you suddenly fell over, and then you go running off without giving me my explanation. I might not know you, but I feel kind of obliged to keep an eye on you now. Besides, it's my job to not let you escape, since I'm the bad guy and all." He grinned.

"I'm not a baby," I snapped in reply, but I didn't argue with him otherwise. I opened the gate and joined him on the other side, then turned back towards the way we had come from. An odd question came to mind as I thought the events of the day over in my head. "Why were you even heading this way in the first place? I mean, when I ran into Tykki."

"That?" Lavi looked surprised at my question, and then shrugged. "I was taking my date to my house; she didn't believe me when I said what I lived in. Also, I happened to notice you walking towards the area Mikk always hangs around, and thought there'd be danger, so I used the fact that she didn't believe me to my advantage to follow you. I knew it was my fault Mikk even knew what you looked like, so I decided I may as well make sure he didn't pick on you. I watched the whole thing, of course. I didn't interfere until you started getting really nervous, since I wanted to see how you handled yourself in situations like that. Generally, sixteen-year-olds can handle themselves pretty good, but you really seem to always need a lot of help."

"You…_followed_ me?" I asked, shocked. Then I shook my head. "Wait, what do you mean I always need help?"

"Well, if I hadn't of interfered with the panda being knocked over, Yu probably would have come over and hit you on the head with it, which wouldn't have been good. You were totally spacing out on the sidewalk that day, and even though you didn't know it you sort of started walking onto the street a couple of times and I had to push you back on it. You just pretty much fainted when an ambulance went by and would have needed one yourself from a hit on the head if I hadn't of caught you, and you nearly got yourself involved with one of the worst groups of people in town. Every time I've seen you you've caused some sort of trouble. I'd say that would be needing help." Lavi replied, raising both eyebrows. They disappeared behind his hair, and I finally took notice of how different he looked today.

Instead of wearing the odd orange scarf and green headband, he had his hair somewhat combed and around his face, showing that it reached just past his jaw line, and he was wearing a nice white dress shirt and a pair of dark blue denim jeans that looked more expensive than my whole wardrobe. It was such a contrast from the odd clothing he had been wearing only this morning and yesterday, that I stared for a moment. The only thing that was the same was the eye patch.

"Allen?" I jumped, looking at Lavi.

"I don't need help," I snapped, a little too late. Blushing in embarrassment, I glared down at the cement. "I am perfectly capable of myself."

"I dunno, if it weren't for me you'd probably be road kill by now." Lavi said, winking or blinking, I still wasn't sure.

"Shut up," I snapped, my face heating further.

"Why're you so embarrassed?" Lavi asked. When I looked up at him, he was genuinely confused. The flush began to ebb away from my cheeks.

"Well…" I didn't really want to admit it, but I didn't want him getting the wrong idea. "Wouldn't you be, if every time you meet a person you either end up making a fool out of yourself, or being told how you make a fool out of yourself? I mean, hearing these things _is_ a little embarrassing…"

"Oh, I tell you all that because you're slow." Lavi said, pressing a finger to his mouth in a secretive manner. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." I glared at him, once again blushing.

"See!" I snapped, waving a hand in front of him. He blinked, letting his hand fall.

"What? All I did was promise to keep a secret." He said, a smirk filling his lips. I huffed.

"Whatever. You should get back to your date, I'm staying home." I muttered, turning away from him and once again opening the gate. Tim landed on my shoulder, and I jumped. I had forgotten he had followed me out.

"Nice pet," Lavi said, staring at Tim. "I guess your right," he said a moment later. He tore his eyes away from the robot, and turned away from me. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Allen. Don't forget, you should go to the office and see what they say about the club, and you joining it." I stared after him as he walked away, and then turned towards the house.

"Like I would…" I muttered, feeling frustrated. Slamming the door shut behind me, I stomped into the kitchen and turned to the fridge. There was nothing to eat, but it was worth a try. I opened the fridge door and stared blankly at its contents-there was a cartridge of eggs, juice, cheep beer that Master only ever drank when he really couldn't afford wine or otherwise, sandwich meat, a pot of leftover spaghetti, and a block of cheese that was poorly wrapped.

With a sigh, I pulled out the leftovers and dumped them into a bowl, throwing it into the microwave and turning it on for three minutes. I went back to the fridge, grabbed the cheese, and started grating some of it. All the while, I was trying to keep my mind off Lavi, and what he had said about following me. It unnerved me, that Lavi had assumed so easily that I needed help. I knew that I often found myself in a situation where I was in trouble and hadn't remember how I had gotten there, but I was usually able to deal with it rather quickly and forget it ever happened. With Master, I often found myself in sticky situations, but just being alive to this day proved that I always got out of them fine. So why did Lavi have to notice how helpless I was, and had suddenly assumed the position of my savior?

My eyes strayed to the note on the table, and my throat tightened. Lavi aside, I also needed to find out why Master had been on an ambulance. Because Lavi had so thoroughly flustered me, I had completely forgotten about the ambulance, and was half thankful, half annoyed. I wasn't as panicked now, so I was able to think a bit more clearly. One thing that had set me off in the note was Master requesting that I stay at home; it couldn't just be to have dinner ready (and I grudgingly remembered that I had a parent-teacher interview that evening).

The microwave behind me beeped, and I looked down at my hands. I had stopped half way through grating, and the cheese had slightly molded to my hands from unconsciously flexing. Groaning, I grated a little bit more cheese off the block and then wrapped it up again, putting it in the fridge and taking out the bowl of spaghetti. I dumped the grated cheese onto the top of the food, and then stirred the contents until the cheese was melted and the spaghetti was well stirred.

I ate quickly, making the quick decision to go to the hospital and make sure Master wasn't lying. I knew that asking the receptionist would be awkward, since I didn't actually know who I would be looking for, but I had a feeling that just asking if she had seen Master would be enough. Every woman in this town knew he was, and if it wasn't by reputation then it was by other means.

I didn't bother turning off the lights as I fled the house, or closing the gate behind me. I wanted to get there and come back as quickly as possible, and I was surprised I was even going as far as to check on the man that had made my life so difficult, though admittedly I had done the same to him. _It's just because I have to get him to my school tonight, so he can't be dawdling. It's already around five, and master always takes forever to get ready even though he comes out looking the exact same…_

I ignored my own musing, jogging at a steady pace towards the hospital. I ignored the people around me, though I did have to mutter a few apologies when I ran into a rather rich looking man with thick dark eyebrows and penetrating black eyes that oddly reminded me of someone I couldn't name. After running away from him, I reached the hospital only five minutes later.

Staring at the huge building, I suddenly felt intimidated. It was rather large, considering this wasn't a city, and though it had a more homey sense than most hospitals with its beige or lavender walls it still had the unmistakable smell of cleanliness that only a hospital could achieve. I entered the building, walking towards a large oak desk that had a lady with blonde hair tied into a tight bun and oddly bright blue eyes.

"Hello, darling," she said, smiling up at me. "Can I help you?"

"Er…yes, actually." I bit my lip, thinking about my wording carefully, as the young looking receptionist waited patiently. "See, my…guardian came in here, but I'm not sure if he's the one who was submitted to a room. I really need to find him, and I need to make sure he's okay." I said feebly. It was sort of a lie-I honestly didn't care if he got himself hurt, so long as he didn't go off dying on me. In my books, it was only if Master was in mortal danger would I ever worry. It was different with others, but he was definitely an exception.

"Can you give me his name, maybe even a description?" The woman asked, though there was a slightly curious edge to her voice now.

"He had a ma-I mean, he has red hair that comes past his shoulders, and wears glasses. He always wears a black trench coat…" I gestured helplessly at my hair and hoodie as I explained. I had about to have said 'mane of hair', but had thought better of it, thinking that she would probably expect some sort of lion. "His name is Cross Marian?"

"Oh!" The woman suddenly looked a little flustered. She bent her head down, her cheeks slightly red, as she typed something into the computer. I had a feeling that she knew Master more than I did in some ways. "He's in room 303, with a Miss Morgan." I rose my eyebrows at the sound of one of my teacher's names, and then gave a small incline of the head and hurried towards the elevators. Why was he hanging around with my teachers?

Getting to the room had not been too difficult-I had nervously stopped a few nurses and doctors who didn't look like they were in too much of a rush once I had reached the third floor, and they had all pointed me in the direction I had been heading in, meaning I hadn't lost myself anywhere along the halls.

However, going into the room was a bit more difficult. I knew that Master would most likely yell himself hoarse once we got back home, which was making me want to turn right back around and pretend nothing had happened, but I was suddenly curious to see why he had been with my teacher and had not told me about it.

Using most of my courage, I twisted the door knob and stepped inside. I used the rest of my courage to actually walk into the room that had six beds and go to the end bed where I could see the familiar shaggy mane of red hair. The sound of my footsteps caused him to swivel around, and I stopped half way through the room, swallowing nervously and standing stock still as he glared at me.

"I knew you'd come," he muttered, more to himself than me. Heaving a sigh, he turned back to the bed, where an unconscious Miss Morgan lay. She was my Art teacher, and had only started this year fresh out of university. I remembered this because I had had the same Art teacher for two years before she came along, causing a bit of change in the usual routine.

"What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice down as to not disturb the people around us. Master shrugged, looking over at me.

"She came over looking for you, and then just collapsed. I had enough time to write a note before the ambulance came, but you didn't listen to me anyways so it's not like there was any point…" Master sighed again, leaning back leisurely in his chair and staring up at the ceiling. "It would've raised too many questions if I didn't go on the ambulance, so I came along for the ride and have been sitting here for about ten minutes. They shipped her off here from the emergency room after discovering that it was a stroke. That in itself took about an hour."

"She had a stroke?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I guess. She looks pretty young, though." Master's eyes drifted towards the sleeping figure in front of him. "I guess people are more prone to this crap happening to them now, after all of the junk food young people eat and all the things that cause cancer." He was right, I thought. There was a lot of things that had been made in the modern day for our own pleasure, but seemed to cause some sort of disease. Even televisions and computer screens were dangerous because of our eyes.

"So she'll be fine?" I asked. Master chuckled.

"Obviously." I sighed in relief and slumped onto the small stool that was most likely reserved for the doctor at the foot of the bed. We sat in silence for a long while, neither of us saying anything as we waited for something to happen. I checked the clock on the wall-we were do at my homeroom in only forty-five minutes.

"Master…" I muttered. He glanced at me. "We have somewhere to be soon."

"I know. I'm going to talk to a doctor, and then we'll head out for your stupid interview." He said, sitting up and looking around. Standing up, he left the rather long room and closed the door quietly behind him. The silence in the room was slightly unnerving now, as all the people in the room were either asleep or alone reading.

In front of me, Miss Morgan began to stir. I sat up straighter, watching her expectantly, as her eyelids began to flutter. A moment later, she was staring blankly up at the ceiling. Her eyes seemed to focus after blinking a few times, and then she found me. "Allen?" she muttered, sitting up a little. I quickly got up, pushing her down gently, and for a moment I thought her cheeks flushed a little when I touched her, but I decided it was just because she felt sick.

"Miss Morgan, you're in the hospital right now. I think it's best if you just lay down for a little while, and not do anything that'll excite you too much. A doctor or nurse will be here shortly." I said calmly. I wondered why I was acting so professional…maybe it was because of the slightly ironic situation.

"There's no need to lecture me, that's my job…" she muttered, but she didn't move again. She was quite pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes. I wondered why she had decided to become a teacher when, with her looks, she most likely could have gotten involved with much more well-paying, interesting jobs like acting or modeling. She noticed my stare, and smiled gently. "Wondering why I became a teacher?"

"Er…" I blinked, looking away quickly. "How'd you guess?"

"People give me that same look all the time. I've gotten used to it, so now I just pretend I can read minds." She shrugged. "But don't tell anyone. Anyways, I always liked school, and I always thought it would be great to watch others grow up and watch my experiences from when I was a teenager through new eyes. I always wanted to pass my knowledge on to others as well, so that it would never be forgotten, you know? It's a stupid, muddled explanation, but I don't really know how to explain my feelings about being a teacher. Sure enough, I feel like killing you guys sometimes, but generally I'm happy. I guess…I just knew it was the right job for me."

"It must've been nice to be so sure of yourself when you were younger," I muttered. A harsh laugh erupted from Miss Morgan's lips.

"I was never sure of myself. I was so confused that I couldn't tell the difference between a chicken and a snake sometimes. Not actually, but you get what I mean. What really made me think of being a teacher was my own art teacher, which was the reason why I _became_ an art teacher. He showed me that life was worth living, and that being able to share your experiences with other people and to teach them things they never knew is always refreshing. Of course, my first year in university I still hadn't picked a profession, and then I was looking through my old year book, and I saw my art teacher in there…and then I remembered everything he said to me, and I knew." The art teacher shrugged, and then looked over my shoulder. "Well, Mister Cross has returned. Let's keep my open conversation with you a secret, alright? I'm technically not supposed to be so open with you."

"Yes, ma'am." I muttered, and then looked behind me. Master was walking towards us with a small, young nurse who seemed slightly flushed. The smug look on Master's face explained it all, and I rolled my eyes. I looked back at my art teacher, thinking over the story she had just given me. she had learned what she wanted to be because of one of her teachers, and if I understood correctly then she was hoping to inspire her own students the way she herself had been. She had a ray of hope, a dream, a meaning to her life…and I was a little envious of her.

"How are you feeling, miss?" the nurse asked as she approached the bed. Master stopped beside me, his hands in his pockets. The way he stood clearly said he wanted to get out as soon as possible, his feet already partially towards the opposite direction, ready to turn and go at any moment. I had a feeling he was clutching a cigarette pack in his pockets, and the way his eyes were slightly narrowed as the smug look on his face dissipated clearly said he was agitated about something.

"Master…are we leaving?" I asked, trying to help the situation. He looked at me, his eyes narrowing a fraction of an inch more, and then nodded.

"Yeah, let's go to that stupid interview then." He muttered. "I have to talk to you, anyways."

"Yes, Master." I whispered, and he turned away after a short wave to my teacher. I turned to look at her, and she gave me a timid smile.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, don't be late or else I'll give you a detention. Understood?" she winked, and then I smiled and turned away. I quickly followed after Master, who seemed wholehearted to get out as quickly as possible without running or losing his cool. As soon as we had left the front entrance of the hospital, he pulled out the cigarette pack I knew he had been holding.

"Where were you all day today?" he snapped. "I didn't even know you were gone until I was calling for you to open the god damn door." I winced as he glared down at me. "You left me to have to go on that ambulance, because you couldn't give me an excuse. Leave a note or something if you decide to just leave the house for the day and leave all of your responsibilities behind."

I nodded mutely, watching him as he lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. I looked away when his eyes caught mine, and stuffed my hands into my pockets to keep them from swinging. The whole time we walked, Master lectured me. When he finished with me leaving the house and about my listening skills, he started about my school interviews and how he shouldn't have to deal with my life.

We didn't return to the house, instead heading straight for the school. It took us a while, but that was the only thing that Master didn't blame on me or complain about. The time gave him the opportunity to lecture me. When we reached the school, he didn't cut off his threats and complaints until I had opened the school doors and he had stepped inside.

"Where's this place we have to go to?" he snapped, and I obediently led the way to my homeroom, a place that I only went to on days when we received report cards. I ignored the lockers, the dim lights, the green walls, everything. The halls were so familiar to me that I never took notice of them anymore. I only went where I had to go, and in order to get there the only things I had to look at were room numbers. I already knew exactly where my homeroom was, so there was no need for that either.

When we reached my homeroom, Master sneered at me before putting on a calm mask and entering the classroom. Sitting at the desk was Mr. Abercrombie, scribbling notes down onto what looked like a test. He looked up at the sound of our entrance and smiled briefly, gesturing for us to enter before continuing with his work.

Master and I walked to the front of the classroom until we were directly in front of Mr. Abercrombie's desk, and I silently sidled into one of the front row desks while Master leaned casually against another. With a final scribble, Mr. Abercrombie placed down his pen and looked at the both of us openly.

"Welcome, Mister Cross, to room 213, I'm Mr. Abercrombie, Allen's homeroom teacher. I asked you to be here today in order to discuss Allen's grades and his possibilities for after high school." He said kindly, his green eyes twinkling. He wasn't necessarily old, but there were a few wrinkles around his eyes from smiling, and frown lines along his forehead. His hair was gray in a few places, but otherwise well groomed and rather dark. He was one of the teachers that you found in movies, who were kind and respectable, and always found time for their students.

"Right, so why does this concern me?" I inwardly grimaced at Master's choice of words, and I could tell that my teacher was also a little surprised at the statement.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know what his possibilities are when he goes past high school?" The teacher asked, frowning now. Master just shrugged, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"The kid's got talent, I already know that. He can do anything he wants if he puts his mind to it, and he's dominated almost every instrument he's ever laid hands on." Master replied. "I know he has top grades, and I know he gets them with ease. I know that if he wanted to, he could probably complete all of your senior exams and get himself into some fancy university in a different country right now. I don't need to discuss anything about his future, because I already know he can get himself nice and far without my help."

"Yes, I'm sure you're very confident in your son's abilities, but I'm talking about planning his actual future and actually figuring out where he will be going. Allen is beyond almost anything we have ever seen, with the single exception of the Bookman legacy, and because of this the staff have been discussing what we could do with him…if sending him somewhere where he can actually be tested would be for the best." The teacher said, and then looked directly at me. I was a little distracted by the way Master's fists had suddenly clenched at the word son, but quickly turned my attention to the teacher. "With your permission of course, Allen."

"Send me…away?" I asked, a little confused. I chuckled. Thinking back on the past couple of days, how my knowledge had been tested against me so easily by such a carefree boy, I wondered how anyone could possibly think of me as intelligent. I was a klutz, I was easily confused, I zoned out half the time, and I was so easily distracted that I hardly ever noticed anything that happened around me. Normally, people would think of me as an idiot, not a genius. But they were centering on my grades, and my abilities with objects that were used the same way by everybody, things that were easy to grasp. They were talking about things that were written, that didn't change, and that I was instructed to do. I was good with instructions. I was good with remembering. That was all. That was why it was so easy to play instruments for me, that was why I could get good grades. I remembered. There was no real talent.

And then a smiling, model-like face with kind blue eyes entered my mind. "_He showed me that life was worth living, and that being able to share your experiences with other people and to teach them things they never knew is always refreshing."_ There was _always_ more to learn and to remember. There was always a different way to use the knowledge, and to be able to understand it was on a completely different level than remembering it. Talent came from passion, not being a machine and doing everything as remembered. There was a lot more to life, and talent was not something that was just remembering. I felt foolish for thinking that, and felt suddenly ashamed.

"Allen?" I jumped, looking up. Mr. Abercrombie looked slightly worried, and Master was rolling his eyes. "Allen, do you want to leave the school, to go to somewhere with a better education?"

"No." I muttered, suppressing a little smile. "No, I like it here." Only because I have a rival. I knew what I wanted to do now. I wanted to surpass the carefree, number one student Lavi Bookman Junior, to see the amusement flicker away. I didn't care that we had had a total of four or five conversations in our lives, I wanted more than anything to surpass him. I looked at my teacher, and caught the relief that had now been etched into his face.

"Well then, I guess that's settled. Is there anything you'd like to add, Allen, about your future?" He was stacking papers absently, mot likely not expecting me to have anything to say, but I had just remembered something else, and considering my new goal, it would definitely become an asset. I slipped out of my desk, standing in front of the teacher's.

"Well, yeah, actually. I got invited to a club a little while ago, but I forgot about it. Would it be alright if I decided to join now, even if it's a little late?" I asked, and Mr. Abercrombie looked up at me in surprise.

"Are you talking about the club with all of the top students?" he asked, and I nodded mutely. "Right. I'll have a talk with the principle. In the mean time, get a good night's rest and I will see you at school tomorrow." He seemed worried suddenly, shuffling out of the room before anything else could be said. When I turned to face Master, I suddenly wished he hadn't left so quickly.

End Chapter

A/N: Okay, so I made it nice and short this time…or at least shorter than the other chapters. I know I said that this chapter would have school, but I ended up getting caught up in an idea that was (gratefully) inspired by ritachi in one of her reviews, and then inspired a major plot. Thanks for the idea, even if it was accidental…

On another note, I still need those pairings. If I don't get more suggestions, then I'm just going to let things go whatever way they want to. There may not even be more pairings…considering this is all in Allen's point of view, it'll be difficult to add any romance that doesn't involve him unless I had him magically peering down over absolutely everybody during their alone times in secluded closets or on midnight walks or something.

I skipped a lot of stuff, rewrote a few things, and read it over to see if I made any more stupid mistakes. I think this chapter helped me get into the plotline, but I still feel like I might have made Allen's declaration to himself that Lavi was going to be his rival a bit too…fast. The couple of paragraphs about talent and stuff was a bit awkward, and I wasn't sure how to write it, but I decided that they needed to be there. Anyways, purty please review? I's likens deh reviews.


	4. Fou

A/N: Here are some answers to any questions: So I guess this story is going to end up being a British Columbia story, because I'm only so old and I only know much about BC, so that's just the way it's going to be I suppose. Concerning the death dream thingy, that's not going to come to life for quite a while. It was a vision of the very far future. Remember, he felt a deep caring for Lavi when he saw him dead, and he doesn't quite feel that way yet. Cross was required to go to the meeting because the school board felt it important for him to be there. Allen was daydreaming for half of the meeting, in which time Cross was actually doing his part by talking to the teacher about his future. I'll probably add that all in sometime soon. As for the rival thing, I'm glad it was unexpected, and I think I'll be able to pull it off. I have a few ideas. I didn't want to make it so abrupt, though, but I wanted it in there as soon as possible, and sometimes Allen can make random decisions on the spot...right?

And today we learn all about Fou. Sort of.

Disclaimer: I do not own -Man

Chapter 4: Fou

The poor boy really wasn't sure what he was doing. As he stood there, shivering from the chilly night, his mind strayed through the various thoughts that had run through him since he had decided to run away. He had a single backpack slung over his shoulder, its contents consisting of only a few shirts, pants, socks and underwear. He had no food, and he had no money, but he knew he could get by. He had gotten by on his own before, with less that he had with him now. For instance, he never used to have the large, puffy jacket that he was currently huddled inside of, trying to shield himself from a bitter wind.

_There was something off about the way people were looking at him. He didn't remember them looking so kind before, like they actually sympathized for him. Before, they would look at him in disgust, shun him, try and ignore his very existence. Now, twice already he had been asked if he were lost or waiting for somebody. He had received at least fifty sympathetic murmurings, and twenty people who attempted to approach him but then hurried away when he glared at them. He had a feeling he knew why…it was because of his clothes. They weren't rags, like the last time he had been stuck in this situation. His hair wasn't in tatters and greasy, his skin was clean and smooth, and he must have looked kinder, softer now, like a child was supposed to look._

_It was all because of Mana. Mana, who he would now freely think the name, who he had troubled, who he was burdening by staying in the same household. That was why he wasn't in a warm bed right now, like he had been for the past year. That was why he was enduring the same bitter life he had thought only hours ago that would be forever left behind. Yet, he couldn't help but feel happy as, at that moment, he could hear his name being called…he could see Mana running towards him…he could see the worry on his face, the love that was there…_

_Why did he come back for him?_

I awoke with a start, my alarm clock buzzing madly beside my ear. I glanced at the time, and sighed. If only the weekend could last forever.

Last night, Master had kept me awake a lot longer than I would have wished, angrier with me than he had been in weeks because of the incident with the teacher. I honestly thought it was more because of the son remark than anything, not because I had supposedly ruined the chance to get away from the house, and in turn give Master a peaceful life. I knew that he didn't want that, if anything because there was no one else who would help him pay for the house.

So I had put up with it, because I hadn't liked the son remark very much either. It disgusted me to think of Master as my biological father, to have been conceived from a woman who had been lured by him, and had then had to deal with me inside of her. There was no way that I would be with Master now, mostly because he would disown any of his own children. That was just the way he was. The only reason he had accepted me was because the government was breathing down his neck when…

I coughed, slipping out of the bed and going to my closet, quickly picking out my choice of clothing for the day. My white hoodie, black jeans, and a simple gray t-shirt. When I got downstairs, I very nearly walked right back up. Standing in the doorway was one of the people from the club I would be joining, most likely, today. As far as I remembered, the girl was rather fierce and short tempered.

"How did you get in?" I asked, surprised.

"Through the front door. It was open." There was silence for a few moments, and the way she looked at me clearly said she thought I was incompetent. I decided to break the silence then, not wanting to stand there awkwardly anymore.

"What are you doing here...?" I asked cautiously, taking the last few steps down as I walked towards the obviously angry girl. An expensive looking baseball cap covered her pink hair today, with overly a baggy black hoodie, and jeans I often saw on boys who most likely wished to become rap stars when they were older. She glared at me, and for a brief moment, instead of looking fierce, she just reminded me of a little girl trying to persuade her uncle into play fighting with her.

"I'm here to fetch you." She snapped. "Hurry up, let's go."

"But I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" I insisted, and she raised her eyebrows. I gulped nervously, hurriedly going to the door and slipping on the simple black skate shoes I had. "I'll eat later."

"Good choice," the girl muttered. I followed her out of the house, grabbing my backpack before closing the door and then rushing after her as she headed towards a sleek black motorcycle that didn't look very safe.

"Why...are you coming to get me again?" I asked.

"I never told you in the first place," the girl snapped, obviously agitated. I winced, taking the black helmet she passed me. "Lavi thought it would be a good idea to give you a...taste of what the club is like before school started. He thought that the best way to start was by me getting you," her face scrunched up in anger and confusion at this, as if she could not quite grasp why she was a part of the plan. Frankly, neither could I. "Get on." I obliged, hesitating only briefly but deciding that if anything was dangerous, it was her when she was angry.

"What's your name?" I asked, unable to remember from our last meeting. The only names I seemed to recall anymore was Lavi's, since he hadn't given me the chance to forget it, and Lenalee's.

"Fou." She didn't say anything else, and the engine to the sleek bike roared to life. I was suddenly glad I didn't have breakfast. She wasn't exactly the safest person, going at such a speed that I had a hard time believing that she had only just started moving. I didn't see anything past her shoulder, having kept my eyes thoroughly shut, and was trying very hard not to release all of the contents of my stomach-which was thankfully mostly empty. About three minutes later, the bike came to an abrupt halt, and I had an extremely hard time unclasping my hands from around her slender waist. "Let go, bean sprout."

There was a moment's pause, and then my teeth audibly snapped together. "I'm not a bean sprout."

"I don't care what you are; if you don't let go of me soon, you'll wish you had never been born." I tried to unclasp my hands again, this time more in fear, but they seemed to be frozen in place. There was a sound like a heavy sigh, and extremely sharp fingernails suddenly dug into my hands. I yelped, and my hands came loose immediately. "Bloody brat." She muttered. "I didn't volunteer to baby-sit a ten year old."

"Baby-sit...ten...old...?" I muttered, horrified, as I practically fell off of the bike. I stumbled into a standing position, staring at the glaring girl.

"Stop gaping at me." She snapped. "We have to get going." Her words brought me back to life, and I turned in a full circle, then turned so I was facing the school. There was no clock there, and when I looked to Fou, I decided I'd rather not try and ask her what time it was.

"But isn't it only seven thirty or so?" I asked.

"It's seven forty-five, which means we only have forty-five minutes right now." She replied, her brow furrowing as she walked away, ignoring me. I quickly sped up to her, keeping pace as she went to who knew where.

"Sorry, but...where exactly are we going?" She glanced at me briefly, and then continued on her walk as if I hadn't said anything at all. This bugged me more than her calling me names. After a moment, she finally answered me.

"We're going to go and meet a couple of my friends. Lavi's orders, again." She didn't sound like she liked it, but something about her expression said that no matter what it was, she would always listen to her orders...or at least Lavi's orders. Maybe she had feelings for him or something, because as far as I knew the only time someone showed that kind of commitment was when they were most likely deeply in love. Or maybe I just watched too many movies.

"Who're these...friends?" I could tell I was irritating her with all of my questions, but I wanted to get some sort of hint of what Lavi was planning, because if what she was saying was true, he was very obviously planning something. Fou sighed again, and then turned another corner around the school so that we were now facing the vast field.

"Just a couple of people I hang out with sometimes. Lavi wants me to drag you around for the day." She said, and was a bit calmer. She was staring at something, and when I followed her gaze I had a feeling that I knew why she was suddenly calm. Three people were sitting on a railing that went around the school, all laughing at something, and one of them pointed towards us.

One of them was a girl, with long brown hair in pigtails and a set of round glasses, wearing a simple gray turtleneck and a black skirt. The other two were boys, one extremely tall with spiky brown hair and warm brown eyes, and the other only maybe five or six inches taller than myself with black hair and eyes, who was very obviously Asian. Both were wearing black hoodies and jeans. Fou seemed to be leading me straight to them without hesitation, looking much more soft suddenly.

"Hey, Fou! Who'd you bring with you?" The tall one asked, waving us over. The girl in the glasses turned to look at me, and I swear I saw something like hearts appear in her eyes as her cheeks suddenly went red and she burst out "Strike!" Beside her, the Asian one frowned and looked me over.

"His name's Allen. Lavi asked me to bring him around for the day." Fou said as we came within feet of them. The girl on the railing jumped off, stepping up in front of me and looking at me as if I were a saint. I tried to back away, but Fou was directly behind me. "Allen, this is Lo Fwa, Ri Kei, and Shifu." She sounded annoyed to have to address me directly, but was soon over it as the Asian one came up to her and started to speak with her. Although her eyes never really unnarowed throughout the ordeal, she definitely seemed more relaxed.

"I'm Lo Fwa..." The girl said, breathing on me as she slowly came closer. I swallowed nervously, this time not caring that Fou was there and actually backing away. The tall boy chuckled, suddenly grabbing Lo Fwa's shoulder and holding her back.

"I'm Ri Kei," He said. The smile he gave me was warm, and I felt a little less nervous. "That's Shifu, if you haven't already guessed. So why exactly is Lavi paying specific attention to you? You must've done something either really good, or really bad." The nervousness returned. Did Lavi really have that much of a reputation among the school? Did everyone know him, and listen to him?

"Obviously it's because he's gorgeous." My train of thought came to an abrupt halt, and I looked at Lo Fwa in pure astonishment.

"Excuse me?" I gasped.

"Well, you are! Look at you, with your snow white hair and beautiful silver eyes..." Once again I could have sworn little red hearts had replaced her pupils, but I knew it was just my overactive imagination. "You have a great built, not too skinny and not too buff. You're a little short, but that's not a problem..." She stopped when she saw the shadow that crossed my face.

"I am not short." I growled out. "I just haven't had a growth spurt in a while."

"Well, doesn't that mean you're short until then?" Fou and Shifu had decided to pay attention to us, and I looked to the Asian boy, the one who had spoken. He was staring at me almost as if he were calculating something.

"No it doesn't." I replied defiantly, even though I knew he was right. I just didn't want to admit that I was shorter than average height by about three inches. Even the two girls in front of me were taller than me, all though currently Lo Fwa was shorter than me because she seemed to want to hunch over and drool.

"You're very childish, Allen Walker, for someone who is almost top of the school." Shifu said, smiling a little. I blinked, unsure of whether I should be offended or not. Ri Kei suddenly hit Shifu on the head, smiling innocently, and turned to me.

"Sorry about him, he likes to pretend he's smart." He said, and I chuckled. After that, things were pretty easy. Fou seemed to refuse to acknowledge my existence after having introduced me, and Lo Fwa was eager to take her place by talking twice as much. Ri Kei and Shifu were nice enough, although I felt like they were holding back from being too open, as if they thought that I would turn on them at any second. All in all, it was one of the most laid back mornings I had had in a long time. It seemed like it had been weeks and weeks since I had walked through the door to a club that shouldn't exist, and stumbled upon people who shouldn't be together, but I was beginning to wonder exactly what the story was behind it all as I watched Fou.

There seemed to be something bugging her. She would put on a smile whenever someone talked to her (pretending I didn't exist all together), but as soon as she thought no one was looking her face would turn frustrated, as if she were trying extremely hard to figure something out. I kept on thinking it had something to do with Lavi or one of the other club members, even though I knew that I could very well be wrong and that she did have a life outside the club, and every single time I thought of it I wanted to know exactly what was going on. Most of the time, my thoughts would end up turning straight towards Lavi. He seemed to be the one with the superiority...

"So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" Lo Fwa asked.

"Lavi." The word left my lips, and I wasn't actually sure what I had just answered. There was suddenly an extremely awkward silence. I looked up at her, and her face seemed to be going extremely red. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to cry, and then she started cooing and awing.

"Oh my god! I didn't know you were with Lavi!" She cried, looking both devastated and gleeful. "Wow, you're gay!"

"What?" I asked, sure she had misunderstood me. Then I realized what she had asked me, and my face started to turn red. "N-no! That's not what I meant!" I cried out, jumping off of the railing I had taken to sitting on. "I-I meant, I mean, I was..." I didn't know what I had meant. I had been so concentrated on Lavi that his name had just come off my lips as soon as a question was asked. How did I explain that without only making it sound even worse?

"Don't go trying to take back your words now," Lo Fwa said sternly. She suddenly looked motherly, and leaned forward to look me in the eye. "When did this happen?" She whispered.

"It never happened..." I replied, my voice unable to reach a lower octave than a high-pitched squeak. "I was just thinking about him when you asked that question."

"So you like him but he doesn't return your love!" Lo Fwa gasped, backing away in sudden inspiration. "What a horrible person Lavi can be!"

"I'm not horrible." Every one became extremely still, even Lo Fwa freezing in her tracks. Lavi stood a few feet away, watching us all in obvious confusion. His eye moved from Lo Fwa to me, where I stood petrified, gazing at him with my mouth open. If he found out that Lo Fwa was jumping to conclusions, would he automatically believe her, or would he bother to hear my side of the story?

"But Lavi, Allen likes you and you rejected him!" Lo Fwa moaned, suddenly herself again. She looked a little nervous, but otherwise fine. Lavi blinked in surprise, and then started laughing. I sighed in relief. If he was able to laugh about it so easily, then he mustn't think-

"Wow, Allen! Did you really? When was it, sometime during you insulting me? Were you actually sending me a hidden message?" He asked, beaming in obvious amusement. I groaned; of course he would try to humiliate me instead. Remembering my little oath, I puckered up my courage and willed myself to smile innocently.

"Yes, actually. I thought you would have noticed." I was surprised at how steady my voice sounded, considering I was both lying and trying extremely hard not to blush at confessing my fake feelings. Lavi went silent, the smile fading from his face to be replaced by pure shock. Pleasure at his dispenses shot through me, and I suddenly felt superior. I had surprised him, and I had made him believe me.

"Well...uh..." He looked nervous and unsure. There was a small frown of confusion, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "I thought...Well, I kinda thought you were completely straight as a board, but...I dunno." I could tell I had thoroughly shocked him-he couldn't speak louder than a mumble, and was jumbling words together into general teenaged slang, something I noticed that he and I shared in not doing. Relishing in the moment, I began to smile.

"I'm joking." I said simply, and suddenly the air seemed a lot easier to breathe in. Lavi seemed to realize that I had turned the joke on him, and sighed in relief.

"You had me worried there," he admitted. "I thought I would have to deal with a new fan boy." I raised my eyebrows inquiringly, and he chuckled. "You'd be surprised by how many people like me, Allen. I told you I was charming, good looking, smart..." He shrugged. I rolled my eyes at his conceded thoughts. "Anyways, I have to go. Class starts in five minutes, and my teacher wanted me in early..."

"Why were you walking this way, then?" Ri Kei asked, obviously confused. "You know we hang out over here. It looks more like your checking on something...or someone." His glances strayed towards me and then back to Lavi. The redhead rolled his one visible eye and heaved a great sigh, as if greatly annoyed by something.

"I'm not a stalker you know. My class is right there." He pointed to a door a few feet away, leading into the school and a rather large hallway. "I have classes in the career center. Anyways, I'll be off now. Nice seeing you getting along with everyone, Allen." His gaze drifted towards me, staring directly into my eyes, and then he was gone. I blinked a few times, confused by the events that had just taken place. Had I really just pretended I was gay?

"You're really good at acting," Lo Fwa said from beside me. I looked over at her, and smiled gently.

"It wasn't easy." I muttered. "I thought I was going to give myself away at any second...anyways, when does class start?"

"Ooo, he's so honest!" Lo Fwa squealed, her eyes glazing over as she thought of things I'd rather not know. I turned my attention to Ri Kei and Shifu instead, Fou still pretending I didn't exist.

"Like Lavi said; in five minutes." Shifu said, grinning. He walked up to me and patted my shoulder. "Ri Kei and I have to go to Chemistry, though. We'll see you later." He walked past me, his hand still on my shoulder until he was too far away to reach. When Ri Kei passed me, he did the same thing, using his other hand to grab Lo Fwa by the collar.

"Come on, you. I know you have Biology, and if you're late again he'll make you stay after school...for what, the hundredth time since you had him as a teacher?" He chuckled as he walked off, Lo Fwa whining and complaining as she dragged her feet after him. I looked over at Fou, who was frowning at something.

"What class do you have?" I asked, chancing that she would actually acknowledge me now.

"Info Tech." She muttered, and pushed off from the railing she was leaning on. "Come on, mister smart ass." She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me in the opposite direction the other three had gone.

"Why are you dragging me?" I asked, hurrying to keep up so I didn't trip.

"I'm taking you to your class. You don't seem like the kind of person who really knows where they're going..." She looked back at me, her eyebrow raised, daring me to contradict her. I knew she was referring to me bursting into a room that wasn't even a classroom, and also not even remembering that it had been the weekend...I sighed at how pathetic I was.

"Thanks," I said, instead of complaining. It seemed to please her-she let go of my wrist, and stuffed her hands in her pocket, walking at a quick pace as she stared up at the sky, not really paying attention to where she was going. "So...what place are you in, in the school?" I asked. Fou seemed to understand my questions, and shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I'm fourth. Somewhere around there." She said, and then a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "It pissed off the others." I could tell she meant Ri Kei, Shifu, and Lo Fwa. She didn't seem to look that calm thinking of anything else.

"Do you like the club?" I continued my questioning, curious to know a bit about her. She seemed different, not quite like other girls. She had more of an attitude, and quite obviously did not care what others thought of her. She was pretty honest, and didn't dress according to fashion, but what she seemed to think was comfortable. My question seemed to stump her, and she took off her hat to run her hand through her hair, and then put the hat back on.

"The club...is interesting. There's a lot of conflict between the people, though. See, there's this group...family. Cousins, brothers, sisters, I dunno, but they're all blood related in some way. They're the Noah Family, or at least that's the huge family they're related to. Most of them don't even have that last name; they just feel special because they're related to that family. The Noah family is ancient, disgustingly rich, and admittedly quite...well, one word for it would be charming, another just plain devious. Lavi's related to them, too. Anyways, my point is, a lot of the family live here, because they originated here or something, and most of them are in the club. As a result...well, for the kids who're just as smart as them and got into the club, it's sort of like a hell, because the Noahs can have whatever they want and seem to think that they can also do whatever they want." Fou explained, and finished just as we reached the front entrance to the school. My head was ringing, and I hadn't really caught the last few sentences. Lavi's related to them too...was that why he had authority? Because he was the most...pure blooded, out of all of them? Those five words had suddenly raised more questions out of me than all the things Lavi had said put together. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" I looked over at Fou, who seemed to notice that I had entered a sort of daze. I smiled a little, and then shrugged. "That doesn't sound all too fair. I mean, are they really all that smart, or are they just buying their way through everything?" I remembered the odd way the room had been split when I had burst into the club. There had been a tension, and it had looked like there had been two groups…The Noahs and the Normals, I decided. But then, why had Lavi been on the normal side, if he was also related to them…?

"Well, Lavi is sort of like a balance for us, really. A peacemaker, I guess. He makes sure that everyone…well, gets a fair trial." Her analogy made me think of courtrooms and judges, but I got the point. "No one really knows why he bothers. Honestly, he's so smart; everyone knows that he knows he's doing to stupid thing. If he just went with the flow, allowed himself to be taken in…" Fou stopped, seeming to think that she had said enough. "You should technically know all this."

"I never pay attention." I reminded her. For the first time, I caused a small smile to appear on her face.

"I noticed." I grinned, scratching the back of my head, and she shoved me lightly. "You're not so bad, kid. You're just…annoying." She winked. I frowned, wondering when I had been annoying at all. I had been pretty quiet, keeping to myself and trying my hardest to not say anything bad, specifically so that I wouldn't be annoying.

"What did I do wrong?" I finally asked. I hadn't noticed that we had already gone through the school, and Fou was slowing down. We had reached my classroom. I didn't bother asking how she knew where my class was, or what class I even had. It was probably Lavi's doing.

"I dunno. I mean, you almost break something and you ended up getting pretty much praised, and then suddenly I have to watch you like you're two, even though…" She stopped again, and rolled her eyes. "Even though you're a sixteen year old who doesn't even realize that we just passed his class." I stopped dead, looking back. My class was now two doors behind me. I thought she would have stopped, but she must have been testing me. I really was oblivious…

"Sorry," I muttered, turning around. She seemed nicer, easier to be around since she had stood on my doorstep only maybe an hour ago. I was almost to my classroom when she called me back.

"Hey, Allen." I looked back at her. "Even though you probably won't find it until half way through lunch…" She smirked at this; "You have to meet me at the cafeteria, the back table in the left corner." She started talking like she was trying to teach a two year old how to say a word. "You know, the cafeteria, in that little building on the side…" she pointed to her left, nodding slowly.

"Thank you for insulting my intelligence, as well as my navigating abilities." I said, giving her the fakest smile I could muster, and then turning away from her coldly. On second thought, maybe I should just stay away from her. I entered my class, ignoring the teacher and the students as I took my normal seat, which happened to be beside a familiar face.

"Allen!" Lenalee said cheerfully from beside me. I glanced at her, and smiled as warmly as I could. I didn't want to let my anger out on her. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Wonderful..." I said, sarcasm layering the word as I smiled at her again. She frowned.

"What happened?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Nothing, really. I ran into Lavi a couple of times on Sunday, and then I had to go to the hospital..." I shrugged again, trying to show that it was unimportant and that I'd rather not talk at the moment, but Lenalee didn't seem to get the hint.

"Did you get hurt?" She asked, frowning a little in concern. I wondered how she could be so nice, and so selfless.

"No, no. I just had to go and see if my...if the person I'm living with was there." I still didn't find it appropriate to say 'Master' to other people when speaking of my technical guardian. They would most likely take it in the wrong way, and I didn't feel like dealing with that. "It turns out he was. You know the Art teacher, Miss Morgan? She was the one in the hospital. He had taken her there."

"Oh! Why was she there?" She asked, showing even more concern as she suddenly sat up straighter.

"Er...A stroke, I think." I replied, frowning. Now that I thought about it, why had such a young person had a stroke in the first place? She looked pretty healthy, and she was fresh out of university...The first thing that came to mind was drugs, but I immediately dismissed this. She probably just had some weird gene line in her family.

"That's terrible," Lenalee said with a heavy frown. I smiled at her thoughtfulness, thinking that it would probably do me some good to hang around Lenalee a bit more. I could probably learn a thing or two from her, on how to actually be sympathetic, and care for others. Right now, I didn't really seem to notice if others were hurt unless it was right in my face where I couldn't ignore it.

"Yes." I sighed. "She's all right now. She was even able to threaten me about school when I left. Miss Morgan is really nice, huh?" I asked, smiling. I didn't bother telling Lenalee all of the things that Miss Morgan had told me. Besides, it was 'our little secret', and even if it was with a fellow student it still felt like I would be deeply dishonoring the art teacher if I told. So instead I kept my mouth shut, continuing to smile warmly at Lenalee.

"Yes, she's one of my favorite teachers. Unfortunately, I don't have her until next semester. I only know her from Student Council meetings. When do you have her?" Lenalee inquired, now resting her cheek on her palm, which was raised from her leaning position on the desk. She seemed to be relaxing.

"I have her next, actually." I said, but Lenalee was unable to respond as the bell rang throughout the building, signaling the beginning of class. The teacher stood up from his desk, going around to stand in front of it, and faced the students that were not late. A couple more students fled into the classroom, looking a little frightened that they would be given detention if they didn't hurry. Our English teacher was strict, and if a person was anything over a minute late they received a detention. Luckily, on days when he was my first block teacher (the days switched), I was generally able to make it to class on time. Most of the time I never really had to worry about it though, because Miss Morgan was usually my first block teacher.

Thinking of Miss Morgan made me wonder what class would be like after what had happened at the hospital. I didn't believe that I was actually good at art, or drawing, but Miss Morgan insisted that I was wonderful and one of the best artists she had ever met. I thought she was just trying to encourage me and be nice. Honestly, the only person in this school who I thought was a true artist was whoever had drawn the picture that had been put up at the beginning of the year, of a young girl sitting on a swing in autumn, her hair being swept around her as she laughed and played...sometimes I thought it was a real picture, but when I looked close enough I could see the pattern of the paint strokes and the faint outline of pencil from when it had been drawn out in some areas.

Miss Morgan had refused to tell me who had painted it...or maybe I had just forgotten the name, like usual, but whatever the case was I loved the picture, and sometimes I wished that I could meet the person who had made it. But I was straying off topic. I was worried that Miss Morgan would try to talk to me about what had happened, and end up causing unwanted questions from classmates.

I didn't bother paying attention to what the teacher was saying. I'd heard it all anyways. I knew what we were doing, and was in fact already two weeks ahead of the class, even though school had just started. I was surprised when Lenalee was suddenly shaking my shoulder, and I was no longer sitting upright. I had fallen asleep at some point in my worrying about Miss Morgan, and had even left a little drool on the desk. Blushing a little, I hurried to wipe away the evidence before facing Lenalee with what I hoped was a kind smile.

"Hey, you're awake, finally! Come on, you're going to be late for class." She said, frowning down at me in a disapproving manner. I laughed nervously, quickly gathering my things and hurrying out of the classroom with Lenalee, who was clucking her tongue at me while also grinning at my comedic state. I realized my hair must have been extremely out of place, and I most likely had desk markings on my cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," I apologized as we reached the hall. She looked a little surprised at this, cocking her head to the side a little.

"Why're you apologizing to me?" She asked, and I paused. Why exactly was I apologizing to her again?

"I made you have to wake me up. I didn't mean to put you through any trouble…" I muttered feebly. What was this? Why had I so easily said sorry, and for no real reason? I was actually worried about Lenalee, and her kind smile. Was this caring for another person besides Mana? I cringed as the name ran through my mind, and I turned away. "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, it was amusing." Lenalee said in a kind tone, albeit a little confused. I glanced at her, and then smiled gently before walking away.

"I'll see you after Lunch," I called, knowing that I would have class with her. I tried to put away the odd, caring feeling that had run through me so suddenly, and waved carelessly behind me. "Thanks for waking me up." I was trying to sound casual and not show that I was actually extremely confused about my own reaction to apologizing to her, and I didn't bother looking back again as I turned the corner. Now…where was Art class?

I was relieved when I did eventually find my Art class (I felt more and more like I was only proving Fou's point about my navigating skills), seeing that there was a substitute for the day. Maybe Miss Morgan wasn't feeling as well as she thought she would be. I took a seat near the front, like always, and waited for class to begin by pulling out my usual notebook.

I doodled for the whole class. It wasn't like I was deliberately ignoring instructions this time-the substitute had admitted he didn't have a scheduled assignment for the class, and didn't actually know anything about art, so he said to just do whatever we wanted. Most of the class was working on assignments they hadn't had time to finish in class before, and there were only a few who were actually doing what they wanted. Nothing exciting happened, just the usual chatter from my classmates all around me that I was able to ignore so well, until about three minutes before lunch.

"Psst." The sound broke through the barrier I had created between me and the other students, and I looked up automatically. I hadn't actually expected it to be for me, since no one ever really talked to me in this class, but my eyes strayed to the doorway and I found none other than Fou standing there, looking impatient and a little excited. I blinked, confused, hoping that if I closed my eyes for a second then she would go away, but she didn't disappear.

With a heavy sigh of annoyance, I slowly stood up, exaggerating the movement to piss her off. Looking back at her face, I saw that it had worked. She looked more agitated and annoyed than before, at least. I made sure to drag out my movements, slowly putting my stuff away and then stretching afterwards, pretending I was extremely tired. Another angry "psst" proved that I had succeeded in making her angry with me, and I decided to speed up a little.

As soon as I was out in the hallway, she shoved me, and hard. "And why the hell did you have to take so long, you brat?" She snapped, glaring at me as if I were the devil and she were the angel. I actually felt that, in this situation, the roles should be switched. I must be at least a little more heavenly than that speed demon.

"I'm sorry, but I just didn't feel like rushing." I shrugged, brushing it off. "Besides, it's not like I had anything important to rush to." I knew I had hit a nerve; I swear I could see a vein pop in her forehead as she clenched her fists. Then I noticed that she was not wearing her hat. I blinked, looking at her again. I hadn't seen her without a hat on before. She looked a lot more feminine, and her short bangs framed an actually pretty face-if it weren't always scowling at something.

"You little…" I didn't hear the end of her sentence because, thankfully, the bell rang at that moment, cutting her off. Her scowl did not disappear as the bell came to a halt, and then she crossed her arms. "Let's go," she snapped.

"Where?" I asked, confused again. She didn't say anything, just started walking. I rushed after her, and she seemed to be heading for one of the many exits leading outside of the school and that was just down the hall. It seemed to be in the general direction of the cafeteria, so I assumed that was where we were going.

"The others won't be able to join us," Fou muttered. She sounded a little disappointed at this, and I didn't blame her. I was even disappointed, if only because they would have kept her from tormenting me. We reached outside into the chill, which I hadn't noticed this morning because I had been a bit distracted. I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to be a little warm.

"Why not?" I asked. Her shoulders tensed at my simple questions, but she answered anyways.

"Because they're all busy with something right now." She replied. She looked back at me, raising an eyebrow as if daring me to inquire further. I smiled meekly, and then looked ahead of me. We reached the cafeteria a minute later, proving my assumption correct, and Fou led me to the back, where a round table lay waiting and empty in the corner. She sat down in the chair closest to the corner, and then gave me a hard look. Swallowing, I sat down in the chair furthest from her, which meant I was facing her.

"So…" I tried, but she ignored me. She swung her back pack off her shoulders, digging inside of it and then pulling out a paper bag. I watched as she pulled the contents out, laying them in an orderly fashion and then picking up what looked like a normal peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My stomach grumbled, and I quickly dug into my own back pack.

I made my own lunch every night before bed. It helped me in the mornings, since I usually forgot things when I was only half awake. Today my lunch consisted of left over spaghetti, three ham and mustard sandwiches, and four chocolate covered granola bars. I didn't look at Fou as I began to scarf the food down at my usual speed, not really tasting any of it.

When I finished, I looked up at Fou, who had only finished eating her sandwich and still had a juice box, an apple, and a pack of what looked like fruit gushers. I wished I could have those kinds of snacks…I noticed that she was staring at me. I looked her full in the face, and very nearly burst into a fit of laughter. She was staring at me in pure wonder, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping open like a fish. She seemed to snap out of it at the sound of my laughter. "What's so funny?" She snapped.

"Nothing," I said, grinning. I changed the subject, even though we were never really on a subject. "So, what grade are you in?"

"The same as you," She replied stiffly. I was surprised she was actually answering my questions, but I didn't complain.

"So you're sixteen?" She gave a stiff nod. "What kind of classes do you have?"

"Normal ones," she said evasively. I raised my eyebrows, and she rolled her eyes exaggeratingly. "I take Physics 12 instead of 11, a computer technology class, metal work, and Math Principles 11."

"Why are you taking Physics 12 instead?" I asked, now feeling like I was interrogating her. I was enjoying myself now, but I knew there would most likely be consequences for my actions.

"Because I did Physics 11 last year. I had an extra block that I needed to fill because I was short an election, so they put me in Physics with the older kids." She replied, and she seemed to loosen up a little the more she talked. Her shoulders were relaxing and her face was becoming a bit more calm instead of scowling or sneering. "I was smart enough to go into an older class, and I had finished Science 10 in the first semester, so I was technically qualified."

"I didn't know they let you do that…" I muttered in wonder. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have taken Art for the past two years. I felt a little guilty as I thought of Miss Morgan, but pushed the thought away. It wasn't my fault if I didn't have a feel for drawing or painting.

"Shows just how much you know," Fou replied with a sneer. I grimaced, but the sneer vanished quickly. Her face seemed to become a serene mask as she watched me, her eyes unreadable, and for a moment she reminded me of Lavi.

"Thank you." I replied sarcastically. "So have you always lived in this town?"

"No…" Fou hesitated, and then smiled. "I used to live in America. Miami, actually. I can't really remember it there, though. I moved here when I was around six, so most of my memories that I remember are from here." She shrugged again, and I was glad she was finally opening up to me. I realized I hadn't really moved since I had been asking her questions, and my mouth was gaping open a little, so I straightened myself and thought of another question. I stared absently at the few people who weren't off school grounds for lunch in search of inspiration.

"Do you have any boyfriends?" I asked randomly, and I heard a splutter. I looked back at Fou and found that she had spit juice all over the table. She couched a little, wiping her mouth with her sleeve in an un-lady-like manner.

"N-no," she gasped out. "That was completely uncalled for, you brat!"

"Can't you stop calling me that? I _am_ the same age as you." I asked, pouting. She stared at me for a moment, before an oddly warm but devilish smile crossed her features.

"Sure…_bean sprout_."

End Chapter

A/N: Yay! The beginning of two new friendships. So the first section, 'Fall', is going to pretty much center on Allen getting to know everyone, so there's going to be a lot of chapters named after characters. I'll probably make the next chapter 'Kanda' or 'Lenalee', but I might introduce the Noahs instead. **This next part is actually sort of important, but you can skip it.**

Now, I saved this particular question/comment for the end, because it's going to take me a while to explain. The club is something that was a bit confused; how it originated, why there's a TV in there, why it's allowed, y'know, stuff like that. To tell the truth, it kind of was inspired by watching Ouran and then needing to let go of some of my Lavi/Allen needs, so I ended up writing out a summary and then I was planning on just writing some of the later scenes that I had in my mind just to get it out of my head, but then I decided I would actually write the story out. So the whole club thing was really just a spur of the moment thing that I really didn't have planned, and so now I have to make everything up as I go, because I realized that I made it a bit too extravagant, and the whole 'Lavi's in charge' thing needed to be explained so I added that into this chapter.

Now, as for the school…normally, in BC, we start high school in grade nine (which I was in last year…jeeze, I'm young), but I made it so that it's the old programming from five years ago in this town, which by the way this town doesn't have a name yet and doesn't actually exist, because I'm that much of an idiot. Anyways, as a result Allen would have only spent two years in high school and still be in grade eleven.

This chapter is kind of rough, because I had to write it all on hotmail and then put it onto Word, and I only quickly fixed any mistakes, so there's probably a few things wrong with it, and for that I'm sorry. On another note, this is the longest chapter I have ever written in my life, not just for this story…pathetic, aren't I? And I have a New Years resolution: finish this story before 2010. I'll probably fail…

Reviews, good or bad, are always nice, and encourage me to write. So pretty please push the button? You know which one…


	5. Violence With Love

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man

Chapter 5: Violence With Love

The boy smiled, his brown hair tied back so that he could see better as he watched his uncle play the piano. Allen had only been told a few days ago that the man would be staying with them for a little while, but he didn't mind. He liked the man who was always playing the enormous grand piano, and very often just sat in the living room watching him. He had noticed that the man liked one particular tune, and played it at least once a day. Allen had also noticed the slightly disapproving look on Mana's face when he also decided to listen to his brother, and Allen constantly wondered why.

"_Allen," The call was soft, but it still snapped him out of his reverie. He looked up innocently at his uncle, who seemed almost identical to Mana. Today Allen had been aloud to sit on the stool with the man, as a special treat of sorts, and every now and then was asked to hit one of the keys. Now, his uncle was sliding off the bench, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. "It's your turn…to play."_

The next few days of school I spent mostly with Lenalee and Fou, the only two people who actually bothered to talk to me. Well, there were always Fou's friends, who were slowly becoming my friends as well, but I only ever saw them when I was with Fou herself. Lenalee insisted on letting me spend time with her at lunch, which meant that I had to meet most of her friends, which were about seven or eight giddy girls who seemed to have a lot of questions to ask me. The funny thing was, it was never about my eye, or why I had white hair instead of a normal color. They probably thought I had just bleached it, or Lenalee had already asked them to not ask me those questions.

As it was, Lenalee had to scold them for the questions they _were_ asking. "Hey, Allen, are you single?" One of them asked, her hair tied into a ponytail and her bright blue eyes staring at mine in earnest. I blinked, blushing a little, and she giggled. "Ooo, you're so cute!" she squealed, and I inwardly winced. How could girls reach such a high octave with their voices?

"Amy, leave him alone…" Lenalee wined again. She looked at me apologetically, and then turned to her friends. "I'm gonna walk with Allen to class, so I'll see you guys later." Before they could protest, or even before I could, Lenalee took me by the wrist of my left arm and tugged. I panicked, pulling my arm away from her as quickly as possible. Lenalee looked back at me, surprised, as I tucked my left arm behind my back.

"S…sorry." I whispered, knowing I had been a little rude. I ran through my head for an excuse. "I bruised my wrist the other day, and it's still a little sensitive." Lenalee's surprise was replaced with concern immediately, and I sighed in silent relief. I didn't really like to lie to Lenalee, but I didn't really have another option. It was either hurt her feelings by giving her no explanation, or give her a feeble lie that would keep my secret.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry." She frowned, stepping forward. "Can I see?"

"What?" I asked, surprised. I tensed the muscles in my left arm to make sure she would be unable to pull it away, and then shook my head. "No, it's fine, really."

"How do you know that, though? You're always wearing gloves." Her frown was becoming more pronounced as she spoke, and she tried to tug at my left arm. It didn't budge.

"I check on it every day!" I said, a little desperately. "Besides, it was my bone that was bruised…you can't see the marks on my skin anymore." I was quickly making things up, and my excuses were starting to sound a little shaky, but Lenalee seemed to get the point that I didn't want her looking at my arm.

"Alright," she sighed. "Come on, let's go." She glanced behind me, and I looked back. I had forgotten her friends were still there. They were all staring at me suspiciously, but for some reason it wasn't the same as when Lenalee looked suspicious. _Could they think…?_ I shook my head, hurrying after Lenalee, who had already started walking.

"I really am sorry." I muttered when I was beside her, and she smiled a little.

"Don't worry about it, Allen. Why do you always say sorry to me for everything?" She asked, looking at me curiously. I stared at her for a moment, trying to find the answer in her eyes, because I didn't know the answer myself. Ever since I had first said sorry to her on Monday, I had been saying sorry for the littlest of things that weren't even my fault.

"I don't know," I finally admitted, shrugging. "I guess it sort of just comes out on its own. I don't really control it."

"Oh." Something about the way she said it caught my attention. Was she disappointed? I could see a frown beginning to form on her full lips, and her eyes went down to the ground. I would have asked her what was wrong, but I was distracted as a single drop of water fell on my nose. I blinked, going cross-eyed as I tried to see the water.

"Gah…" I wipe the water off of my nose, and then looked up at the sky. Another drop fell on my cheek. I hadn't noticed just how black the clouds were today. "It's raining."

"Oh!" This time it was surprised, as Lenalee joined me in staring up at the heavens. "Oh, no…I didn't bring an umbrella to walk home with."

"I can lend you mine," I said. I had one sitting in my unused locker, just in case something like this happened, but Lenalee shook her head vigorously. Was she declining because she was upset with me? But that thought was washed away when I saw the look of sudden worry on her face.

"I can't, or else my brother will wonder who gave it to me. He'll have a freak out if I come home with a boy's…" She swallowed nervously at the thought. "Don't worry, he'll probably come rushing to pick me up after he sees it's raining. I just hope he doesn't rush out of the building in the middle of an important meeting."

"He'd do that?" I asked, wide eyed. Lenalee looked at me with slight fear in her eyes, and nodded. I couldn't help myself; I started to laugh. Now that she had told me that, that was probably the real reason she had been worried about not having an umbrella. That was so…Lenalee. The laugh faded away as the thought came to mind. I was right, I knew, but when had I started to notice Lenalee's traits? And it wasn't only her traits. I was noticing Fou's as well, and even some of Lo Fwa, Ri Kei, and even Shifu, who never really seemed keen on showing any other emotion than a slightly creepy smile.

"What's wrong?" I jumped, looking at Lenalee. Then I smiled sheepishly, rubbing my nose.

"Nothing, just giving myself scary thoughts," I said. "Come on, let's get inside before it gets worse." She seemed eager to agree, staring up at the foreboding clouds warily. We rushed to the nearest exit, and when we reached it I quickly opened the door for Lenalee. She smiled politely and stepped inside, the word thanks coming to her lips, but the word stopped half way through when I ran into something tall and very much human.

"Watch it, idiot!" A cold voice scoffed, and a hand dragged me up by my hood. There was a moment of silence, my feet barely touching the ground as I stared into the face of a very angry, very feminine looking boy. I swallowed nervously, offering a grin, but the gesture only seemed to make him angrier. His face twisted into a sneer, his brow furrowing. "Keh, it's the bean sprout."

"My name is Allen!" I snapped, forgetting trying to get on the boy's good side. He scoffed, letting go of my hood, and I fell to the ground from lack of balance. Grumbling angrily, I stood up, facing the feminine boy that I had first met in the strange club. He stood a good head taller than me, towering over me and making what used to be anger turn into ice-cold fear.

"Kanda!" Lenalee suddenly exclaimed, a very forced smile appearing on her face. She clasped her hands together, stepping between the now positively fuming adolescent and myself. "I didn't know you hung out around here!"

"I don't." Kanda replied shortly, sparing no manners for the poor girl. He didn't seem very nice. Then I noticed the streak of red just beyond Kanda's shoulder, and found myself facing Lavi for the first time in three days. I wasn't sure why I hadn't seen him lately-maybe he had just lost interest in me-but the sight of him brought a strange feeling to my stomach.

"Be nice to Lenalee, Yuu!" Lavi wined, not looking at me. Was I invisible now? "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Keh, whatever." Kanda snapped, his gaze straying over to me. His glare clearly said that he thought _I_ was the one who had done wrong. He then returned his attention to the goofy redhead. "Stop calling me that."

"Why? This is English culture, we're supposed to call you by your first name unless you're superior to us by humungous standards." Lavi said, and I raised an eyebrow. That wasn't necessarily true, but I didn't say anything. It seemed Lavi was just trying to make up excuses, anyways. Lavi turned to Lenalee, a goofy grin appearing. "And how's our little darling doing?"

"Shut up, Lavi…" she muttered, a blush staining her cheeks. She gestured to me, and then pointed to the area behind them. "I was walking with Allen to class, since lunch is almost over."

"Allen?" Lavi turned to look at me for the first time, and when his eye met my own, another lurch spread through me. Why was he looking at me so coldly? Or had I just forgotten how impenetrable his eyes were? I had created an image in my mind, of a boy with a goofy grin, messy hair, and wild, colorful clothing that was just trying to be better than me. I hadn't added the wisdom that was hidden there, or the way his emerald eye seemed to look through everything. "Why would you want to walk with him?"

"Lavi…" Lenalee wined, pouting as she listened to her friend put me down. Then I remembered the last time I had seen Lavi, how I had pretended that I had liked him. Was he angry with me because of it? Was he not used to being the loser in a situation like that? He had seemed fine when he left, but Lavi didn't seem like the kind of person who let his emotions show very easily. Either way, I still felt proud of myself for dominating him on my first try.

"Why are we standing here doing nothing?" Kanda asked impatiently, his eye starting to twitch. His arms crossed over his chest in a stubborn manner, and I wondered just how easy it would be to send this boy into a tantrum.

"Sorry, Yuu," Lavi said teasingly, and I had a feeling he wasn't sorry at all. "It's not my fault; you were the one who got distracted." The redhead seemed to be enjoying himself, and he looked at me. The smirk turned a little coy, and then he leaned forward so that he was closer to me. "And of course, our actor here seems to be distracting a lot of people."

So he _was_ angry. I bit my lip, wondering why I suddenly felt a little guilty about my act. I suppose I had figured that he would get over it within a span of three days; I hadn't realized that I had actually hurt his feelings that badly. Then, running his words through my head, I got a little confused. "What do you mean, I've been distracting a lot of people?"

"Everybody in the club's heard about you joining. They're excited, I guess you could say." It wasn't Lavi who had answered. Lenalee was now directly beside me, watching Lavi carefully. This struck my curiosity. Was she watching for something, a reaction to me maybe? Lavi leaned back, noticing Lenalee's scrutiny, and shrugged carelessly.

"It's been a while since anything new has happened, that's all." So he was basically saying 'don't feel special just because they're paying attention to you for now.' He then turned to Kanda, a sly grin appearing on his features. "Even Yuu here is excited." Another angry twitch came from Kanda's eyebrow. His jaw clenched with his fist, and just as he was rising his arm Lavi raised his arms defensively. "I mean you're happy that you have someone to pick on!" he squeaked.

"Keh, who cares." Was 'keh' the only thing this guy liked to say? He looked at me again. "Touch me again, and you die, bean sprout."

"Yessir! Or should I say ma'am? I can't really tell." I sneered, crossing my arms. I didn't feel like dealing with his stupid death threats. There was a moment of silence, Lenalee looking horrified, Lavi looking surprised, and Kanda positively livid. Then, pain spread throughout my body, and I keeled over.

"You kicked him!" Lenalee cried out. I coughed, and I swore I saw a speck of blood come out.

"Obviously I kicked him," Kanda snapped from above me. "The little shit deserved it."

"Well…" This was Lavi's voice now, and for some reason it stood out more than the others. I could hear a hint of amusement in his voice. "I suppose it's about time someone picked a fight with you besides me, Yuu. You didn't have to kick him so hard though, and in the stomach, too." So that's why my stomach was aching the most. Honestly, I hadn't even seen it happen. A gentle hand placed itself on my shoulder.

"Allen, are you alright?" Lenalee whispered in my ear. I nodded my head once, and then winced. "Lavi, can you help me pick him up?" Lenalee asked, and was beginning to pick up my left arm when I pulled away.

"No, it's fine…" I gasped, slowly sitting up. The pain that coursed through me was great, but I ignored it. I didn't want to go to a nurse, or anywhere else. It was too risky. I placed a hand on my stomach, trying to ignore the pain it caused, and smiled weakly up at a worried Lenalee. "I'll be alright, I've had worse." This was true, but only to a point.

"You're a stubborn one," Lavi muttered. I jumped; he was now directly beside me, kneeling down and only inches away from me. When had he gotten so close? Before I could protest, he slung my right arm over his shoulder and started to stand, bringing me with him. Trying my hardest not to cry out from the pain this caused, I used my legs to support myself as much as I could.

"Kanda, say sorry." Lenalee said sternly from my other side, and I turned my head weakly to look at the silently fuming boy.

"Screw that." Kanda snapped, and turned to the door. Slamming it open, he left the building and entered the now visibly raining outdoors. I hoped he caught a cold, or worse. I was distracted when Lavi's arm went around my waist. It made me uncomfortable to be so close to him.

"Alright, to the nurse's office we go." He said, swiping a sideways glance at me. Noticing that I was looking at him, he gave me a goofy grin. He didn't seem angry with me anymore-maybe he felt that getting kicked in the stomach was a good enough repayment. "Lenalee, you want to run ahead and tell them what happened?"

"Alright, I'll see you two in a couple of minutes." Lenalee said, then ran off. She was faster than I thought, but I supposed it made sense. She had a small build, tiny and sleek like a cat, with long legs and probably barely any fat, if any at all. She seemed to be pure muscle, which was easily noticed because of how small she was (although still taller than me).

"Cute, huh?" Lavi grunted from beside me as he began to drag me forward. Supporting most of my weight on him deliberately, I allowed him to drag me through the halls. There was no point in trying to run. I would probably only get a few steps in before I collapsed from the pain. Lavi seemed to know this, which was probably the reason he wasn't bothering to hold on to me too tightly. "Lenalee would make a good cheerleader, if you ask me. Unfortunately she refuses to join the team, saying that she's not like that. I think it's just Komui not allowing her."

"Komui?" I muttered reluctantly. I didn't like it when Lavi spoke so easily. He had done it a couple times, rambling names that I didn't know.

"Lenalee's brother." Lavi said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I grimaced when Lavi shifted his arm around my waist, moving it so that it was a bit higher near the ribs, probably for better support. "Sorry," he said absently, and I shrugged. There was silence for a little while, as we passed a few students who stared at us and began to whisper once they were behind us. "So, what'd you do after I left Sunday?"

"Huh?" It took a moment to understand what he had asked. "Oh, that. I went to the hospital." There was a pause, and Lavi looked at me curiously. "My guardian left a note saying that was where he was, so I went to see why. It turns out my art teacher had come to my house, and then collapsed when she walked through the door."

"Really?" Lavi asked, a grin suddenly appearing. "I didn't know your guardian had that kind of effect on people! Is that why you're always so air headed?" My teeth clenched audibly, and I glared at him.

"It wasn't because of him. She had a stroke." I snapped, but I didn't seem to be helping my case very much. Lavi's grin grew wider at my expense, and I sighed in defeat. "Never mind." Then I paused, and grinned slyly. "What about your dates?" Lavi suddenly stopped grinning, and looked at me curiously.

"Why? Curious about what I do when you're not there?" He asked, smirking a little, but when my smile disappeared and I stared at him blankly he heaved a sigh. "I ended up canceling the second date." He admitted, not looking at me. This took me by surprise, having not been what I had expected. "I ended up just watching movies by myself for the night."

"Why?" I asked, frowning. Whenever I thought I understood a part of him, he suddenly changed completely.

"The truth?" Lavi asked, still not looking at me. I nodded my head, then realized that he couldn't technically see me since his eye patch was on the eye I could see. So I uttered a quiet "yes", and Lavi sighed again. "Well, you made me think about it." I stopped moving, shocked at his words. Lavi stumbled, tripping under the sudden weight, and brought us both to the ground. I ignored the pain, bringing myself to a sitting position to stare at Lavi again. "What'd you do that for?!"

"You canceled the date…because of what I said?" I asked, testing the words out, not really believing them. Lavi seemed to notice how surprised I was, and the anger that had been there a moment ago faded away.

"Why're you so surprised? You're hard to not listen to when you get all passionate like that." He stated, shrugging as if it were no big deal. Now I was confused; when had I gotten passionate? Sure, I had been pretty disgusted, but I don't remember feeling passion. "Anyways, she seemed alright with it after I said she was being unfair to her boyfriend, but I don't think she'll be talking to me very much any more. Her boyfriend will probably like that."

"You're impossible…" I uttered. How was I supposed to win, to be better than him, when there was nothing to be better at? Lavi was so many different things, it was impossible to best him at everything, and so far he seemed to be proving that he _was_ everything. I couldn't find a weakness in him anywhere. He admitted his wrongs, he was honest, he didn't pretend to be something else because people didn't like him, and he didn't try to change himself to please others just because he liked them. How could I find a way to be on top of someone so _perfect_?

_No, not perfect. Impenetrable would be a better word for it._ I decided, and then looked up at Lavi, this time with new eyes. I think I understood now, how he worked. It wasn't about being better; it wasn't about winning or losing with him. He was just doing what he wanted to do, not really caring who came up so long as they didn't block his path. Wasn't I trying to do just that, though? Then I noticed the look he was giving me.

"How am I impossible?" he asked, looking at me as if I was a three headed dog that had come from the planet Mars. I laughed out loud, feeling foolish and selfish at wanting to surpass this boy. How could I be such an idiot? He wasn't trying to infuriate me, he wasn't trying to surpass me or be better than me, he was just being him, and I was dealing with it the wrong way.

"Never mind," I said. I readied myself to sit up, but a sharp pain in my stomach made me stop. I winced, then sighed in annoyance. "Why did he have to kick me?" I snapped, hitting the floor impatiently. Lavi chuckled. He stood up, brushing off his pants, and then held a hand out to me. Hesitating for only a moment, I took the hand, wincing the whole time he pulled me up into a standing position.

"You alright?" Lavi asked, concern flashing across his face briefly. I nodded, and he smirked a little. "You really are stubborn, you know? But I guess that's a good thing, because otherwise you probably would have just complained this whole time instead of putting up with it." He slung my arm over his shoulder again, wrapping his arm around my waist as well. "Sorry about Yuu. He gets angry really easily."

"I never noticed." I muttered sarcastically. Lavi chuckled again, seeming to find it funny that I was being bitter.

"He doesn't take too nicely to people. I've known him since we were toddlers, and he still hits me every time I say something he doesn't like. He still acts like he doesn't know me at all." This I could understand. "You're pretty lucky he doesn't drag Mugen around constantly." Lavi said, and I could see the sign for the nurse's office up ahead.

"Mugen? Is that his rabid pet bull dog or something?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. That was an odd name to call a pet.

"Ha!" Lavi laughed, shaking his head at my apparent stupidity. What had I said that was so funny? "I keep forgetting you don't know anything about him. He has a sword called Mugen, from Japan. He lived there for a few years before coming back here. That's why he prefers being Kanda, by the way. He got used to it, and now he pretty much hates his first name."

"I was wondering," I muttered. Then something from one of our previous conversations popped into my head. "You said once that Kanda was a good person when you got to know him. Were you lying, or did you actually think that?" I asked, frowning. Lavi laughed again.

"He doesn't act very nice around people. When you're alone with him, though, he's actually sort of friendly. He opens up a lot more, that's for sure, and despite how much he tried to ignore me and pretend he hates me, I know he'd hurt anyone who tried to hurt me. He's already done it a few times." Lavi spoke with actual care now, smiling gently and looking at something I couldn't see; distant memories of him and Kanda, most likely.

"You sound like you're in love with him," I said absently. Lavi blanched, giving me the reaction I was hoping for, and I grinned. "Just kidding." I said in a singsong voice, and Lavi rolled his visible eye.

"You like to do that a lot, don't you?" He muttered rhetorically. I just shrugged.

"You set yourself up." I replied. "Besides, I don't think anyone could actually love a guy like him. He's too much of a sour puss." Lavi grinned at this statement, and then nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree most definitely." He said. "Although, I think him and Lenalee would be pretty good. She balances him out perfectly." Lavi sounded a bit far off, as if he were talking to himself and not me. For some reason, his words made an uncomfortable knot in my stomach. Why would little Lenalee want to be with someone so cold and brutal, and who would probably never treat her right?

Okay, so now I was assuming things about the feminine boy, but I couldn't imagine that face smiling or looking caring. I didn't care that I had known him for maybe ten minutes. My attention was brought to Lenalee, who was waiting for us outside the nurse's office. I hadn't noticed how long it had taken just to walk down the hall. I guess it was because Lavi was basically dragging me, and wasn't taking more than little steps at a time. A bead of sweat was forming along the side of his face, not caught by the crazy green headband.

"There you two are," she sighed with relief. "You took over five minutes, so I started to get a little worried." I definitely couldn't imagine that smile being for only Kanda, who had already made the impression on me that he didn't really care about anyone.

"Sorry, but Allen here made me trip." Lavi said, grinning. I rolled my eyes, dropping my arm from around his neck.

"It's not my fault you decided to tell me something that shocking," I grimaced. "It's not every day someone tells you they completely changed their plans because you got a little defensive."

"What?" Lenalee asked, staring at us in confusion. I nudged Lavi, using my left hand to pry off his arm from around my waist, which he still hadn't let go. The bell rang, signaling that class was beginning in five minutes, and Lavi looked back.

"Sorry, Allen, but I have to go." He said, frowning as he turned, waving carelessly behind him. I watched him leave, a flood of students coming from every direction and obscuring him from my view. I looked back to Lenalee, who still looked confused, and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, you should get to class, I'll only take a couple of minutes in here." I said kindly, stepping forward to open the door, but Lenalee opened it for me and looked at me sternly. I got the point that she wasn't going anywhere, and sighed. We entered the nurse's office, where the school nurse stood waiting beside a small brown leather bed that was covered with white paper. She smiled at me and patted the bed.

"You must be Allen. Come on," She said, "On the bed and let's take a look at you. What exactly happened again?"

"He was kicked in the stomach by Yuu Kanda." Lenalee explained as I wobbled my way over, grunting in pain as I lifted myself onto the bed. Now that Lavi wasn't here, I didn't mind letting my pain be known a little. The nurse bustled forward, her face showing her disapproval as she lifted up my shirt with gloved hands.

"Oh dear, this looks bad." She muttered, then turned to Lenalee. "It's the third time this month, and school only started three weeks ago."

"I know, and we've been trying to calm him down or warn people, but no one ever listens…" The girl frowned, hanging her head in defeat. "And there's no point in trying to make Kanda listen, because he'll just yell at me and say to stay out of it."

"Don't worry, dear. It's not your problem to deal with, but I'm afraid that as this is his third victim in three weeks that's come in here, and who knows how many others who were too scared to, we're going to have to bring his parents here and show them the damage of his most recent victim." The nurse said, still frowning. There was a pause, and then I realized what they were talking about.

"You mean…I have to meet Kanda's parents?" I asked, going wide eyed. "No, no, no! I'm fine, see?" I forcefully stood up, trying to stretch out my arms, but as soon as my feet hit the floor pain shot through me and I recoiled, falling to the ground. Two sets of hands were pulling me up, Lenalee laughing and the nurse sighing.

"Don't try and be a hero, young boy. That bruising looks dangerous, and who knows what's going on inside. There could easily be internal bleeding, and that would mean that we would have to send you to the hospital." I was afraid she might've said that. It was the reason I didn't want to go here in the first place, because I had known that the kick had done a great deal of damage. I knew I could deal with it, mostly because I had dealt with it before, but they didn't know that.

"That's completely unnecessary, nurse," I tried to argue as they lifted me onto the bed. I shifted a little so I could sit up a bit straighter, and then looked her full in the eye. "I'd rather not have to go to the hospital. It would raise too many questions, and I _did_ provoke Kanda, so I don't want to give him too much trouble by going through the whole process that going to a hospital would cause."

The nurse looked stern for a long moment, staring at me as if looking for a hint of doubt. Then, she heaved a long sigh and her expression lighted a little. "Alright, have it your way. _But_," she added, when she saw the smile beginning to spread on my face, "You still have to come to the meeting with his parents so that they can see the damage and know exactly what their son is doing."

"It's not actually required…" Lenalee began, but the nurse turned on her so sharply that she shut her mouth. I already knew I didn't actually have to go if I didn't want to, and I was definitely considering it, but I put away my fear of having to face Kanda again and instead gave a forced smile and nodded.

"I'll be there, I promise." I said, maybe a little bit more forceful than necessary. Lenalee looked at me curiously, and the nurse nodded approvingly. I sighed in silent defeat when she turned away, staring at the floor and wondering why this mess had to start.

"That was really brave of you," Lenalee's voice muttered from beside me, and I looked up. The girl had moved across the room to stand next to me, and looked a little worried. "You didn't have to stand up for Kanda like that. His parents already know what he gets up to, and he's already grounded, so you really don't have to come, but what I don't get is why you refused the hospital. You lied about provoking Kanda."

"No I didn't. I was the one who decided to retort to his insults, instead of just being more mature and ignoring it. So in a way, I did end up provoking it." I replied, shrugging. Lenalee frowned, searching my face for some unknown emotion.

"You just don't want to go to the hospital, do you?" She asked, and I inwardly cursed. I quickly put on an innocent smile, trying to pretend like I didn't know what she was talking about.

"It's not that. I just know how to deal with this, since I've had this happen a couple of times before. Since I'm so clumsy, I get injuries a lot and have a tendency to get myself into tight situations." The way she was looking at me told me she wasn't buying it at all, and my smile slowly faded. I sighed again, looking her directly in the eyes, trying to get my point across to her. "I'm fine, Lenalee. Really."

"Why do you do that?" She hissed, glancing at the nurse. She was still busy looking through her drawers for something. "You made an excuse about your arm, too, I know you did." How had she seen through that one? I thought I had fooled her. Or maybe she was better at pretending than I was, and was only cooperating because her friends had been there.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I mumbled, starting to get upset. I didn't want to talk to her about this, and I didn't want her to discover one of my secrets, one that I had worked hard to protect. "Lenalee, I really am fine, and I really like talking with you all the time, but if you keep asking these questions…I really can't answer them."

"Boys," Lenalee grumbled, turning her head away from me after staring at me for a moment. "All they ever do is hide cryptic little secrets and then do whatever they want, whenever." I smiled in relief, knowing that she was accepting the fact that I was unable to tell her. Something told me this wouldn't be the last time she asked me, though.

"Ah, found it! Karin and Alexander Kanda," The nurse suddenly said triumphantly, and Lenalee and I turned to look at her. She was going over to the aging phone hanging on the wall by the door, picking it up and dialing a number. There was a moment's silence, where I could barely hear the sound of ringing coming from the phone, and then the nurse lightened up. "Hello, Mrs. Kanda? Yes, I need to have a talk to you about your son, Yuu…I'm afraid so, yes…Yes, if you could please come in after classes are over, that would be excellent…just come to the nurse's office and that'll be fine…thank you very much, goodbye then.

"Well, I want you back here as soon as school his over if you're going to your next classes." The woman said, turning to me after she hung the phone up. "Unless of course you would like to rest for a little while, which I wouldn't blame you because that's a nasty bruise. Miss Lee, I'm afraid you'll have to go to class though. If you can find him, please tell Yuu that he must be here after school."

"Yes, ma'am," Lenalee said, smiling. She gave me a small smile and a wave, then left the room. I swung my legs experimentally, and when a sharp pain came from the simple movement I groaned. How was I supposed to get to class?

"No, I don't think you should be going to class…" the nurse suddenly muttered, now standing in front of me. She was peering down at me, assessing my movements and my facial expressions. "Come along, then. I'll take you to the beds just beyond that door there," she pointed to a small green door I hadn't noticed earlier, slightly ajar and revealing a faded blue room with short beds covered with rough blue blankets.

"Thank you," I muttered, deciding not to argue. She helped me up, dragging me to the room gently, and then placed me in the nearest bed.

"Just call if you need anything," she said, smiling down at me as she left the room, leaving me by myself. I sat back slowly, trying hard not to curl up in agony from the pain, and ended up just relaxing my muscles and falling backwards. I sighed, closing my eyes and ignoring the throbbing in my stomach. I wasn't sure how long I was lying there, thinking of anything I felt like.

I tried moving a few times, but it didn't work. As soon as I shifted myself any which way, another shot of pain coursed through me and I would end up trying not to curl up again. So instead I settled for a position like a vampire, crossing my arms over my chest so they wouldn't hit my stomach, and keeping my legs straight as a board. It didn't hurt nearly as much when I was lying like this.

I was dozing off now, going in and out of consciousness, and at some point I was aware of voices in the other room. Someone else must have gotten hurt, so I ignored it and tried counting sheep to see if it actually worked. However, the voices were getting louder and angrier, and soon the door burst open. Startled, I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, but was instead met with a hand pushing my shoulder down. The angry voices hadn't stopped talking.

"Don't push yourself. They're just arguing." A familiar voice whispered, and I looked over. Lavi was there, looking highly amused and watching two people in the doorway. I recognized one of them as Kanda, and I immediately wished I had fallen asleep. The person beside him was someone who looked oddly familiar, and was very obviously related to Kanda. His eyes were the same dark color, and his hair was the same shade of black, but he wore glasses and his hair was cut short like a businessman. He wore a deep blue suit, and his face was so feminine that he could most likely pass as Kanda's mother if he decided to put on a dress and get hair extensions.

"I am sick and tired to you making more problems for this family! What do I have to do to get you to listen?" The man was saying in a low tone, one that made me shiver in fear. Master took that tone when he was livid, so obviously this man wasn't exactly happy at the moment. "Your mother can't be dealing with you when she has everything else on her hands. If this keeps up, we're sending you away."

"Alex, hush." A woman's voice rang, kind and gentle. How could two people look so alike and then marry? Wouldn't they feel like they were marrying their sibling? The woman who had joined the two men had long black hair tied into a low pony tail at the nape of her neck, and her eyes were a light brown, the only difference between her and Kanda in looks. She was different in personality one hundred percent, with a soft smile on her features and her feminine, perfectly shaped face healthily flushed with color. She wore a simple green dress with a cardigan clinging to her shoulders, surprising me. Wasn't she cold in this weather? "Are you the young man?" She was looking at me now.

"Huh? Oh. I don't know." I mumbled, looking away from her gaze. A light blush made its way to my face, and I tried not to look up at the beautiful woman. I couldn't believe that someone who would kick another person because they felt like it could have such a kind mother. Lavi was laughing under his breath beside me, and I had the urge to punch him in the face. Did he always have to notice everything?

"Yes, he's the one. Look at this!" The nurse was now bustling inside, her face stern as she went towards me. She yanked my shirt up despite my laying down position, and pointed at my stomach. I couldn't see it, but I could tell by the fact that Kanda's mother had covered her mouth and his father had suddenly gone red that it was bad.

"That's it. I'm taking Mugen away, and I'm sending you to live with your grandparents." There was silence, and I could see the fury in Kanda's eyes when I looked at him. It took me a brief moment to make my decision, and I knew I was most likely going to regret it, but I knew I'd only regret it more if I didn't make this choice.

"It's alright, really. I provoked him. Let him stay here..." I tried to sit up, and Lavi noticed what I was trying to do. I glared at him when his hands went towards me, but instead of pushing me down he was helping me up. There was surprise in his eyes, and he was staring at me in awe. What had I said? Once I was sitting up, I continued talking. "I shouldn't have started talking back. I could tell he had...anger issues; the first time I met him. So it's my fault for deciding to test him, and I had no right to do so. If you think about it, I deserved being hit in the stomach. I needed to learn my lesson, and Kanda taught me. Really. He did nothing wrong. Don't punish him, when I was the one who did wrong."

They were all staring at me incredulously now, and his father was choking on something. Finally, "You're very foolish," Kanda's father snapped, glaring at me now. I was amused by how quickly his anger had changed over, and stared him straight in the eye. Sure, he was pretty scary looking, but he didn't know what I had to deal with at home.

"Sure. That's the reason I got kicked, though, isn't it? See, now even you think I deserved it, I can tell by the look in your eyes." I wasn't lying-I could see that he thought I was incompetent by the judgmental look that was now on his face, and the way his eyes were narrowed into near slits, almost exactly like Kanda.

"Fine, if you want it that way. Kanda, you're staying. I have to get this inferior boy out of my sight before I hit something." The man snapped, turning to leave the room. He paused, looking at his wife, and with a sigh he left. The woman only had eyes for me it seemed. There was a more concerned, thankful smile on her face now. Kanda, beside her, was glaring at me suspiciously. He probably thought that I expected some sort of payment for saving his ass when I didn't even know him.

"Honey, why don't you go to the car? I'll be there in a minute." His mother continued to not look away from me, her head only slightly turned towards Kanda. He stared at her for a moment, and then looked at me with a frown.

"Keh, damn bean sprout." He spat, stalking out of the room. I took it as thanks. Beside me, Lavi shifted, making me notice him for the first time since he had helped me up. I glanced at him, but he was staring at Kanda's mother.

"Allen Walker, right?" She asked, ignoring Lavi. I nodded mutely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Karin Kanda, but you can just call me Karin. I must say, you were very kind to do that for Yuu." She said, and I could tell she meant it. "He's a...bit sensitive I guess you could say, but he really does mean well. I'm very sorry for what happened, and I know you just lied about provoking him, and I thank you for swallowing your pride."

"It was really no problem, ma'am..." I mumbled. "I was just...making sure I wasn't on his death list for the rest of my life." I shrugged, admitting the half-truth of it. It wasn't the whole truth, just a part, but neither she nor Lavi needed to know that. I could tell I had amused them with this, though.

"Well, whatever reason it was, I am grateful to you. I'm sorry about my husband, he's just a bit tired from work, and this is already the third incident at school with Yuu, so he's a bit frustrated." I nodded in understanding, smiling for her sake, and then bowed my head. "However, I do need to leave at the moment. Alex will most likely be waiting for me."

"I can understand the stress of work," I said, and she smiled gently. "I hope things go well with Kanda."

"Thank you, again." She said, and then turned to Lavi. "It was nice to see you again, Lavi. Tell Bookman that I will be over for another treatment very soon. Best wishes to you both." Her tone had been a bit clipped when she addressed Lavi, making me a little curious, and I turned to the redhead when she left the room.

"What was that?" I asked, and he looked at me, feigning confusion.

"What was what?" He replied, shrugging. He sat down at the end of my bed, taking on a relaxed position. "She had a message for gramps. A lot of people do, and when they ask me to relay a message to him they do it quickly, especially with other people around. I'm used to it."

"It seemed sort of rude..." I muttered, more to myself than him. It had been odd to listen to the transformation in her voice. She had seemed to kind, and to suddenly be so hostile was a bit unsettling. Was that what I was like when I spoke to people? I knew that I put on a polite facade for people these days, but did it slip sometimes? For some reason, her change had only reminded me of me. And of Lavi.

"Well, that's business. That's just the way they are." Replied Lavi, shrugging nonchalantly. "Anyways, let's go. It'll take us a bit to get outside because you're so gibbled right now."

"What?" I asked, surprised by the sudden statement. "You're coming?"

"Yup. I'm going to give you a ride, since I'm just so nice." Lavi grinned at me, and then stood up. "Let's go. Hop to it."

"Yeah, you go right ahead and hop. I'll start calling you a bunny rabbit, how about that?" I said sweetly, cocking my head to the side. Lavi laughed, doubling over, and I smiled. He sort of did remind me of a rabbit sometimes, the way he was so hyper and full of energy. Only sometimes though. I let him help me up, and he dragged me outside to where the nurse had disappeared to, which I hadn't even noticed in the first place. Although a bit reluctant, she allowed us to leave, scowling at me the whole time.

"Allen! You're alright!" Oh yeah. Lenalee. I looked to the doorway, where she stood with relief all over her face, and I gave a weak smile. "Lavi, where are you taking him?"

"Home. Where else? It's not like I'd abduct him or something, there's not reason for me to. I don't think he's worth it." I frowned at this, looking up at Lavi, but he winked playfully. Lenalee glared at the redhead, stomping up to him.

"That's not fair! How come you got to come inside and I didn't? What happened, anyways? Kanda wouldn't say anything to me!" She wined, and I couldn't help but chuckle. I barely paid attention when Lavi told Lenalee what had happened, and instead marveled at how different things had become in my life. To think it had all started with this rabbit…it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Then I frowned.

"Lavi. You don't fit your part well. Become more like the rabbit instead of the Cheshire cat."

"I think he's hallucinating."

End Chapter

So, did you see my trick? Hmm? Didja, didja? See, I made Allen think of him as a rival, but that was after Lavi had ticked him off. But then, when Allen realized exactly how Lavi was, he didn't really see rivalry there anymore. I mean, he still wants to surpass Lavi in grades and stuff just to brag, but now he'd rather see Lavi as a friend. Tricky, right?

Also, I think I might rewrite a bit of chapter 3, and most of chapter 1, just because I made a few things to quick, and other things too confusing. However, don't expect me to do it quickly. I'm a very lazy person. This is another chapter written on hotmail, too, but I don't feel like going through _absolutely_ everything right now, because it's almost ten thirty at night here and I'm tired and just want to get this up, so I'll deal with the repercussions at a later time. I hope you liked the last couple of sentences there.

Review, it helps me write faster. That way, you get updates faster.


	6. Fake Innocence

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Chapter 6: Fake Innocence

The sound of the piano wasn't only soothing to him, but to all of the people in the room. There had been an accident-Mana's brother had suddenly disappeared. There were two officers, who had decided to stay the night in case something happened, and Allen and Mana. The officers weren't supposed to sleep, but the boy and his father should have been sleeping many hours ago.

_Instead, Allen was using his piano skills, the ones he had learned from his uncle. They had been working on the piano for a month now, and Allen had finally learned how to play Debussy. As he plaid the most recent tune he had learned, he could feel his anxiety slipping away. He was waiting, and that was why he was playing. He was waiting for his new uncle to come back. He felt that maybe if he played enough, then he would call the man back to the house, and he would make everything right again…he would make the frown on Mana's face disappear, and there would be laughter again. The tune changed to the one that the man always played, although Allen had become unaware of it. _

"_Allen…that's enough." The strain in Mana's voice made Allen stop. The notes ended abruptly, and the delicate fingers of the child lingered over the ivory keys before he abruptly pushed away from the piano. Without a word, he fled from the room and up the stairs._

"Well, the bruise is finally starting to heal." Lenalee commented when I lowered my shirt back down. I rolled my eyes, seeing the concern that was etched into her face. It had been a week and she still thought I was going to collapse and have a heart attack at any minute. "At least you'll be able to come to the club on Saturday."

"Yeah, I can't wait." I tried to say this sincerely, but I honestly couldn't. I wasn't actually looking forward to going to the club, and I definitely didn't want to see Kanda again. Thankfully he wasn't in any of my classes since he was a year older, but I would have to face him in two days if I ended up getting forced to go. Most likely, Lavi would get Fou to pick me up. I wasn't looking forward to the experience.

"Well, the shortie will probably want to quit as soon as he spends one hour in the presence of those spoiled prats." Fou said from my other side. I winced. I wasn't sure why today had to be different, why Fou decided to come and sit with me and why Lenalee had told her friends that she didn't want to hang out with them today. Now I was stuck with two completely different girls; one too concerned with my health, and one who decided to laugh at everything I did wrong.

"Don't be so negative," Lenalee frowned. Fou rolled her eyes, pulling her toque over her eyes and leaning back, feigning sleep. She was wearing a turtleneck today, with a pair of skinny jeans and high tops. Lenalee wore a pair of simple jeans and a white hoodie, similar to my own outfit. I wasn't sure why I always noticed their outfits-maybe because every day they were so different from the one before. "So you figured out what you're going to wear, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I nodded, realizing that she had noticed me examining her clothes. She had told me yesterday that we had to wear all black when we went to the club, although she didn't explain why, and that if I didn't show up in black then Lavi would most likely let Kanda kick me again. Saying that could have convinced me to wear black for the rest of my life depending on how hard Kanda was allowed to kick.

"Good," Lenalee said, once again looking relieved. She began eating the sandwich in front of her, staring absently into space, and I looked down at my folded hands. So much had changed in the course of two weeks, that I still had a hard time sucking it all in. I had gone from a person who didn't want anything to do with anyone, to a teenaged boy who was making friends. What had happened that had changed every thing so much?

"Hey, Allen, can I see your right hand?" I jumped, looking up. Fou was staring at me, her brows furrowed in concentration. Her question confused me, and worried me a little, but since she hadn't asked to see my left hand I didn't see why I had to make an excuse to say no.

"Why?" I asked instead. She shrugged, holding out her own hands and waiting. Hesitantly, I put my right hand in hers, and she began to pull off the glove. When it was off, she placed it carelessly beside my arm, and then turned my hand over so she was looking at the back of it. I stared at the cuts that were there. I had forgotten about those.

"I thought so," she muttered. I looked at her questioningly. "You've been keeping things off the back of your right hand a lot. It made me curious, so I started to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with it." I hadn't even noticed that I had been doing that, so how had she noticed?

"Where did those come from?" Lenalee asked, now paying attention to the exchange. "Allen, what did you do?"

"It's nothing," I replied easily. I shrugged my hand out of Fou's, grabbing my glove and slipping it back on, avoiding their gazes. "They're just normal scratches from a tree a couple of days ago." I hadn't realized the cuts were so bad that they would still be there after two weeks. I tried remembering the last time I had looked at the mirror in the bathroom, trying to remember if there were any cracks. I didn't think I had hit it _that_ hard.

It took me a minute, and I wasn't sure if Lenalee or Fou were trying to catch my attention, but I eventually remembered when I had punched the mirror. There had been the satisfying crack…and then the small cracks at eye level. Master had said nothing about them, and I hadn't noticed them at all in the past couple of weeks, so it might just have been the fact that I had been _looking_ for them that I saw them that time. They were pretty small, after all. It was still surprising that it had caused such deep cuts.

"Hello, do you mind if I join?" The childish, too-sweet voice brought me back from my reverie, and I looked up. I recognized that voice. I hadn't thought of the girl since that Saturday a couple of weeks ago, mostly because Lavi had taken my attention right afterwards, but as soon as I heard her unique voice I remembered her.

"Go away," Fou snapped, it seemed almost automatic, and she sat up straighter. "You're not welcomed here."

"Fou," Lenalee hissed, but she didn't look too far from agreeing with her. I looked over my shoulder, where the oddly childish girl was standing. She wasn't wearing much black today, instead wearing a white frilly dress shirt with a lavender skirt and deep purple and black striped tights, her shoes a shiny black. I was pretty sure they were called Mary Janes. "What would you like?" Lenalee's voice was timid, but I didn't look at her.

"Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself to Allen here. We missed him last weekend and I wanted to make sure he was coming this weekend. It would be a pity if he didn't." The girl smiled, but it wasn't in a nice manner. It was more like she was taunting me; her eyes stared me down and made me feel like I was dirt. Her spiky blue hair was only making her scarier. "Well, Allen? Will you be coming?"

"Yes, he will be." Fou was whispering, and I tore my gaze from the girl to look at her. Her hands were clenched into fists and her eyes were narrowed in pure fury as she stared at the girl. "Your question has been answered. Get away."

"Don't be such a poor sport," The girl frowned mockingly, but the creepy smile returned when she looked at me. "I'll see you later, Allen." She turned away, humming a strange tune I'd never heard as she headed towards the opposite side of the cafeteria.

"Who was that?" I asked, but I was pretty sure I already knew. A Noah.

"Road Camelot, she's a freshman. Don't let her fool you into thinking she's nice." Fou sounded even more hostile. I thought of the creepy smile, and shuddered.

"Don't worry." I said, turning to look at her.

"Fou, stop it! You shouldn't have been so rude." Lenalee said, her brow furrowed into a frown, and she was staring intently at Fou. I watched them carefully, trying to figure out why they were suddenly so tense. The girl had left, hadn't she?

"Whatever. It's not like she was going to be the cherry on top, either." Fou replied, and then looked pointedly at me. "Lavi was right."

"Hush," Lenalee snapped, looking annoyed for the first time since I had known her. It registered in my mind what Fou had said, and I realized exactly why the two were with me right now.

"Lavi told you to keep an eye on me, just in case they decided to try and get to me." I stated simply, staring blankly at them. It hurt, knowing that they didn't trust me to take care of myself. Besides, they were only causing more trouble for themselves by trying to stand up for me. When would I be aloud to look after myself?

"Well, it's not like he's just being some obsessive creep. He obviously knew they wanted to talk to you." I noticed how we were saying 'they', as if the Noahs were a completely different species or something. In high school terms, I suppose they were, but I still wasn't used to the way teenagers referred to each other all the time. I didn't really involve myself in it before I had met Fou.

"Did he think I wouldn't be able to handle myself?" I asked, voicing my previous thoughts. My mind wandered to a conversation with Lavi, where he was telling me how he had followed me because he knew where Tykki liked to hang out. I winced. Yeah, Lavi didn't think I was capable of taking care of my own problems.

"It's not really like that," Lenalee insisted. She looked worried, and a bit concerned. Her gaze was directly on me. "He just doesn't want you to have to deal with them only because you're connected to him now." That made me angry. So the only reason anyone wanted to talk to me was because of Lavi, because _Lavi_ liked me? Lenalee seemed to notice what she had just said, and quickly tried to make amends, but the damage was already done. "I didn't mean it like that, I just mean that the Noahs are really trying to get at Lavi in any way possible these days and he doesn't want to have to drag anybody into it!"

"It's alright," I whispered. "I understand." To a point. I didn't add the fact that the only reason the two girls had ever even started to talk to me was because of Lavi, or that the only reason I was involved in this club thing was because Lavi had been the one who wanted me in it. I didn't mention that Lavi seemed to be the center of absolutely everything these days.

"I'm sorry," Lenalee whispered, looking down and not looking back up. She was guilty, I knew, but I didn't try and comfort her this time. Instead, my attention turned to Fou. She was smirking.

"So the new guy finally realizes that he's only important because of someone else." She leaned back in her chair, pulling her toque off and playing with her hair as she stared at me. She was assessing my reactions. "Poor little Allen...but don't worry, shortie. We only _started_ because of Lavi. No one told me to hang around you for the past week, or Lenalee to talk to you during class. The only thing Lavi did was give a little push by forcing us to do things, and then we got to know you. It's not all that bad. I think he's doing you a favor."

"When you say it like that, sure, but for some reason when it comes out of your mouth it doesn't sound good at all no matter what it is." I replied calmly, a smile fighting its way onto my lips. "I think Lavi didn't really do me a favor so much as a burden when he sent you knocking on my door. I guess he just thought I wanted a lap dog."

"Take the words back now," Fou hissed, the chair coming down hard as she sat forward. I didn't flinch at the sound of the metal hitting cement, instead looking Fou directly in the eyes, smirking. "Alright then, pea brain. You think I'm your lap dog? Fine. Good luck finding your way around the school without me. Oh wait...never mind, you have Lenalee. I guess I'm not needed anyways."

She stood up and left, disappearing at a different table within seconds. I looked at Lenalee, who looked a little surprised and taken aback, and sighed. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"Allen, Fou doesn't really like it when people say she follows them around all the time. She has...issues, when it comes to friends. She's a bit possessive. That's why she doesn't act very nice around people-she's afraid to get too attached. She got attached to you, and now she's paying for the consequences. It didn't help that you called her a lap dog...now she's going to try and keep her distance from you, and most likely every one else, because you made her afraid again." Lenalee was now looking in the direction Fou had disappeared in. Now I felt really guilty.

"Someone could have told me that..." I muttered. "Besides, why would she be attached to me? I'm no one special."

"You're more kind than you know, Allen. You can be a bit scary when you decide to fight back, but most of the time you let people say what they want about you, and you take it with a smile. You don't let things bother you very easily, and you don't center your life on stupid things like girls or friends, but instead you center on the things you believe are important, like school, work, kindness..." She was making me sound a lot better than I really was. I centered my life on pretending, and not revealing my secrets. I centered my life on my past, by trying to forget it.

"You have me all wrong, Lenalee..." I whispered, frowning. I could tell she wanted to ask what I meant, but I interrupted her by turning and looking at the clock. "Well, the bell's in a few minutes. Want to head out?" I asked, already standing. The girl frowned, staring down at her table, and shook her head. This surprised me a bit.

"No, I think I'll stay here until the bell rings. I want to be alone for a few minutes," She whispered, and gave a hesitant smile. "I'll see you in class."

"Okay..." I said, surprised, and turned away. I walked out of the cafeteria, not looking back and not really paying attention to where I was going. I had really blown it just now. I could tell that my comment had slightly, if not completely, ruined my friendship with both girls, and I was starting to wish I had taken it back as soon as Fou had said to.

"Allen, where are you going?" I stopped cold. Did she follow me on purpose? I turned slowly, facing the girl.

"I was heading towards my next class..." I said, a lump in my throat. I wasn't sure why I was suddenly nervous, facing the small girl all by herself. At least I was taller than her.

"Silly boy, class doesn't start for another five minutes. It's a bit early, isn't it?" She smiled, suddenly innocent. It wasn't the same creepy smile she had worn before, but a perfect, serene smile that made my heart skip a beat. I hadn't noticed how pretty she had been before, or how her features were almost perfectly set even though she looked like she was only thirteen or fourteen. Her teeth were perfectly white, and her smile was the perfect balance on her face. Her eyes weren't the same taunting look they were before, but happy and almost caring.

"Yeah, I guess not. If you don't mind me asking...were you put up a couple of grades?" I asked curiously, and the smile on her face faltered for a second. Then she laughed, the sound like bells. I felt as if I were hypnotized by everything about her. It wasn't in a sick and perverted way, just a kind of draw to her, like she was a magnet and I was metal.

"No, I'm just a bit small." She replied, her laughs fading away. "Why don't you walk with me for a bit?"

"Of course," I said automatically, smiling in a friendly manner. I didn't have to remind myself to be kind this time. Maybe this girl wasn't as bad as the others said she was. I followed her as she turned around, beginning to walk in the opposite direction I had been heading. Now that I looked around, I realized I had been going the wrong way anyways.

"I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Road Camelot, a freshman. I'm eighth in the school." She said, smiling gently at me. "First in my grade." I thought of the grading system, and how they decided on who was top of the school. They had every kid in the school take the same test at the beginning of the year, in the middle, and at the end. It was these tests, at a grade twelve level, that told us where we were in the school. I had scored 98%, getting two out of a hundred questions wrong. I supposed Lavi received 99 or 100.

"It's nice to meet you, Road. I guess you already know my name, though." This was a bit obvious, since she had been saying my name frequently when she addressed me. The small girl smiled, and I had to swallow something back. She really was pretty, in a cute sort of way. How come Fou hated her so much? "So you're a Noah?"

"Yes," she replied. Her smile didn't falter, so I hadn't offended her with the sudden question. "I'm one of the closest relatives. Actually, my uncle is the head of the Noah family. He's really great." A fondness entered her features, and I could tell she liked her uncle a lot. I stared at her for a moment, the way her face was so relaxed and how she made me feel perfectly happy just by standing there. She didn't even have to speak. How was it possible to be drawn to a person so easily?

"Is Lavi your cousin or something?" I blurted, not really thinking about what I was asking. I regretted it immediately in some part of my mind, but the rest of me woke up. A sudden darkness crossed Road's features, and I suddenly remembered the dark look she had been giving Fou and Lenalee, and the way she seemed to be gloating. I remembered how Fou had told me not to let her deceive me, and I very nearly slapped myself. I was an idiot. How could I just disregard what they had told me because of a kind smile?

"Lavi is…special." Was all she said, and put on a smile again. This time, I did not feel drawn to her. It was like some kind of spell had broken, and I could see her for who she really was. Maybe I was just desperate when she had first walked up to me, maybe I had just wanted to be reassured that I had friends because I felt guilty, and maybe that was why she had won me over so easily. Surely if I hadn't of just upset Fou I wouldn't have fallen for Road's trick so easily. Now I noticed how her smile was slightly tight, how her eyes were guarded, how she was never truly relaxed. It reminded me of Lavi, and that was probably why I was able to notice any of this.

"How so?" I continued my questions, trying to put on a smile as good as hers. Now came the game. Who would crack first?

"Oh, you know. He decided to make his own choices." Her voice was too thick with sweetness, and the tone was suggesting she disapproved. "It's a pity. He would have done well, and would have been a good addition to the family." She spoke of him like he was an item to be collected. It was disgusting. I was feeling more and more ashamed of myself for my very brief liking of this girl.

"Do you see much of your family often?" I felt like I should continue on this subject, try and get as much information as possible. Besides, I couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

"Yeah, all the time. Do you know Tykki Mikk? He lives with my father and me. Actually, he's sort of like my uncle." Road replied still smiling a little and now cautious. She seemed to notice a change in my attitude, and this made me wonder if it was really just my guilt that had attracted me to her.

"Tykki…" I was brought back to my brief adventure. "I know him, sort of." I didn't bother covering up my dislike this time. I scrunched up my face, scowling at the walls, making sure not to look at her. Road laughed.

"He doesn't make a very good impression, does he? I always tell him to be nicer to people, but he never wants to listen." She sighed, as if exasperated, and gave me one of those looks where you were supposed to agree with them, or else there would be pain. I didn't want to be hurt, because it was doubtful she was the one who would be giving the punishment, so I nodded weakly. Besides, it wasn't like I thought different. Honestly, I was wondering if it was possible for Road to be anywhere near as cruel as him, although she seemed to be reaching a point.

"He's a bit…" I tried to think of a word that wouldn't offend her too much, but Road interrupted me.

"Cruel? Sly? Deceiving? Sinister?" She said the words casually, as if she didn't really care she was talking about her own family. I could see something there, though, in her eyes as she spoke the words. She _liked_ it, to be like that. "It runs in the family." I was caught. Maybe she was just tired of playing, or maybe she just wanted me to sweat before we reached my classroom, which I could see a couple of doors ahead. It was my Spanish room. "I told you, it would be nice if we talked a little more, didn't I? I said I looked forward to meeting you again. Did you forget?"

"Uh…sort of…not really…" The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, but Road did not stop where she was, or turn around, or even take notice to the fact that the bell had rung at all.

"Allen Walker…You're pathetic." She hissed the words, stopping directly in front of me. I halted, trying not to run into her, but now she was only an inch away from me. I looked down at her, and I could feel panic rippling through me. Why would she say that? What did she know? "You hide behind your little friends, and you act all innocent, but believe me, I will find out what you're hiding behind those precious gray eyes of yours. Soon, you wont have anyone, and you'll be left alone, crying for someone to help you…and then I'll be there, Allen Walker."

I shivered. She was threatening me, she was telling me to watch my back. What had I done? "Is it…is this because of Lavi?" I whispered. There was a flash in Road's eyes at the mention of his name, a burning fire that said revenge, but she shook her head, a cruel laugh coming from her lips. Her answer left me more scared than I had been in six years, a tight knot forming in my throat, although it was not a direct answer to my actual question.

"There were two brothers who went by the name of Walker. One of them, Mana, adopted a little boy…after that, no one heard from him, but he died three years after adopting that child. His brother died about a year and a half previously, but for completely different reasons." She paused, seeming to notice how I had become tense, how I was having a hard time breathing. Suddenly, she put on a smile. "It's a rather interesting mystery, you know. No one knows how either of them really died. Anyways, enjoy class."

I tried to relax as I watched Road disappear. She only _thought_ that I was the child. She was trying to find out if I was, but what did she have to do with Mana? Why would she be curious about him? What had Mana not told me in all those years? I shivered to think that he had some sort of connection to that hideous family, but admittedly he had never told me where he came from, and hadn't even told me he had a brother until the man showed up at our door.

"Allen?" I froze, turning to find Lenalee. She looked a little worried, watching me cautiously. I tried to push Mana out of my thoughts, a dull aching in my chest from having thought about him at all, and smiled at her. I knew Road would prove to be an enemy, and if she was an enemy then so was the rest of her family, but I couldn't worry about that right now. I couldn't let Lenalee know.

"Hi," I said, waving a little, and then gestured to the door. "You go on ahead first." I stepped aside a little, and though she looked a little suspicious, she went through the door. I looked behind me as I followed after her, and was surprised when I saw Fou standing there, watching me with dull eyes, leaning against a wall casually. She didn't acknowledge me when I saw her, and I realized she was waiting for her teacher to come and unlock the door for her class. Had she heard Road?

"Allen, come on, people are trying to get past you," Lenalee whispered from beside me. I blinked, realizing that there were many people waiting for me to get through the door, and my cheeks flushed.

"Sorry," I muttered, rushing to my seat. Lenalee giggled, following after me and sitting next to me. The teacher had still not come, and the room was filled with chatter, but Lenalee and I said nothing. Then, "I really am sorry about what I said to Fou."

"I know you are," the girl whispered. She leaned closer to me. "I saw you talking with Road when I was down the hall." I tensed again, waiting for accusations and betrayal and a loss of a friend, but Lenalee was smiling gently instead. "Don't let her get to you. She'll make you think she knows more than she does. In all of the family, she has the most control, and a nasty habit of blackmail to get what she wants. She'll be nice at first, she knows how to draw people to her by acting, but if you let her get too deep then her strike will hurt you more than if you had just ignored her."

So they knew about her, that she could make herself look innocent and childish enough to not be able to hate. It would've been nice if they had warned me about this. Yet it still didn't explain how she knew about…I winced, unable to think the name. I had already thought about him too much today, and I didn't want to remember anything else today. "I guess I'm an idiot, huh?"

"Well, you were feeling guilty, weren't you?" Lenalee whispered, here eyes downcast. "It's easier to make a person like you when they feel guilty, right? Don't think too much on anything she said, Allen. If she said anything about…about your father, it's only because she has access to your school records. She only knows as much as she finds on the internet about a person. Don't let her think that he had some sort of connection to their family."

"You heard," I choked out. Lenalee nodded, looking guilty. "How long…?"

"I followed you when I saw her walking with you a little while back. I think she knew I was there…I think that's why she decided to strike so early. Usually, she sweet-talks a person for a few days instead of stopping at only a couple of minutes. Allen…you're not pathetic. I promise you, we won't abandon you. We will stay by your side for as long as you want us to. Lavi will most likely stand strongest."

"Lavi?" I asked, surprised by the name. In truth, I had forgotten about Lavi as soon as Road had started talking about…I stopped thinking again, paying attention to Lenalee.

"He understands more than most about these kinds of things. The Noahs have been trying to find a way through him for years, and they've tried almost everything. The things they've used against him are terrible secrets, and it's shameful of them to even consider telling anyone, but it never worked with Lavi. He stayed strong, and now he supports all of us when our time comes to deal with Road, because she's attacked all of us. That's why Lavi asked us to stay with you, because he knew she would strike soon. He wants to help you as much as possible." Hearing Lenalee say this also made it impossible to hate Lavi.

"Thank you, Lenalee." I whispered. "You helped me a lot just now." It was true. The tight knot that had formed in my throat was slowly fading away, replaced by relief. It made me at ease to know that the only thing Road knew was what was in my school records. For all I knew, she had just made up the rest of the stuff. It was easier to think like this. She didn't know nearly as much as she was letting on.

"Hey, Allen, do you want to walk home with me today?" Lenalee asked, again staring off into space. I was surprised by the question, but nodded.

"Sure, which way do you live?" I asked.

"Actually…the exact opposite way than you, but I can probably get my brother to drop you off at home if you'd like. I just wanted some company today, and you seem like the only person I actually want to be around right now." Lenalee shrugged, still spacing out, but then something she had said seemed to trigger in her mind and she blushed. "I mean, I don't feel like hanging out with any of the girls, and Fou's angry, and I don't know where anyone else is…"

"It's alright, I didn't take it that way," I said gently. I knew what she meant about wanting to be around a certain person, although I didn't understand why it was me, but I did know that when you wanted to be around a certain person it wasn't because you liked them like that, or because you were trying to find a way to ask them out in a roundabout way, it was just this odd feeling that you had where you wanted to be around them. There was no real explanation for the feeling, just a deep friendship. It surprised me that she felt that way towards me already.

"Thanks," Lenalee said, smiling. I blinked, confused. She giggled. "Most people think I'm trying to get a date when I invite a guy over. The only two guys who didn't mind and understood were Lavi and Kanda." This surprised me as well.

"You let Kanda over to your house?" I asked, astonished.

"We're closer friends than you think, Allen. I may be even closer to Kanda than Lavi is, and there's absolutely no romance involved in this either. Mostly, it's because Kanda lives right next door, so I see him every day anyways. Oh, don't worry, he won't come over today," Lenalee added when she saw my face. I guess the feeling of blood draining out of my cheeks wasn't just my imagination.

"Alright, be quiet!" the teacher snapped from up front, and I turned my attention to the board. I had forgotten I was in class. The next couple of hours I was left worrying what would happen at Lenalee's home, and now that she had asked, I had begun to think of what could possibly be in store. Unfortunately, I left one tiny little detail out, and I would regret it more than anything once we arrived at Lenalee's.

We spent our walk talking about different clubs and their activities, and talking about the things that went on in the school. Thanks to Lenalee's many girlie friends, she knew all the gossip around the school whether she wanted to or not, and I found that it was actually pretty interesting to hear what was going on. It was more amusing than anything, but I found myself frowning and moaning in fear and laughing with Lenalee the whole time.

When we reached her house, I wasn't all that surprised that it was three stories high, and most likely with at least ten bedrooms. I wondered what had made her family so rich. Then, before Lenalee could even open the door, a loud yell echoed through the street.

"LENALEE! WELCOME HOME, LENALEE!" My heart went cold, my mind went blank, and I could feel my knees buckling even though I wanted nothing more than to run. I had completely forgotten about her big brother, the one who wouldn't even let her borrow an umbrella from a boy. I could tell now that Lenalee had not been exaggerating, just from how excited the voice was, and suddenly I wondered if this was really a good idea. Big brothers were protective… "IMPOSTER! GET AWAY FROM MY PRECIOUS LENALEE!"

Oh yeah. I was totally dead.

End Chapter

A/N: I'm surprised how short this is despite the fact that this is the longest time I've taken to write a chapter for this story. I'm pretty sure it's mostly because I didn't know how to write with Road. She's complicated for me, because I don't know how to make a person innocent and sly and evil and all that all in the same go. I hope I didn't do too poorly.

I've been meaning to mention this for a while: when a person speaks and there's grammatical errors and all that, it's on purpose. That's just how they talk, since a lot of teenagers don't really bother to try and sound perfect when speaking, and there are instances where in Allen's point of view this occurs. It's also on purpose…sometimes. There are quite a few incidents where it's not on purpose.

I'm so excited! I get to introduce two awesome characters in a couple of chapters! Yay!

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, and I'll update again as soon as I can. Until then, let me know what you think so far!


	7. A Fair Amount Of Fun

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

A/N: It's October 1st in the story.

Chapter 7: A Fair Amount Of Fun

"_Why did he leave?"_ _The little boy asked, staring at the large piano sitting in the middle of the room._

"_He felt he needed to, to keep us out of danger." Was the man's reply._

"_But why would he put us in danger?" The boy insisted, glaring at the instrument now._

"_He did…a great deal of things, Allen. He experimented with dangerous subjects, things he should have never looked into. He might still be alive if he hadn't of done those things." The man was whispering now, a pained sound coming from the back of his throat._

"_But what did he experiment with?" It was obvious that they had already had this conversation many times, and that the conversation always ended here. Mana refused to tell the boy even after a month since his own brother's body was found rotting in a garbage truck. Today, however, it seemed Mana had changed his mind. He stared straight into the little boy's eyes, searching for something, and then seeming to make a decision._

"_He studied…" he paused. "You cannot tell anyone about this, Allen, do you hear me? You mustn't begin to look into it once I tell you, and you must promise me that no matter what happens to me, to you, to anyone you care about, that you will not look into this," Mana said, so seriously that all Allen could do was nod, at a loss for words. "He studied black magic. More specifically…black magic that can bring a person back from the dead."_

I had survived the greeting in the door. After Lenalee kicked her brother with a surprisingly high kick in the chest, and smacked him on the head three times, he finally allowed me to step on the threshold. Something about the glint in the man's eyes clearly said that he was against the very thought of me being in the same town as Lenalee, let alone in the same room.

Lenalee offered that we sit in the living room, and as soon as the words were out of her lips Komui disappeared and I could hear something going on in the next room. Lenalee sighed, shaking her head softly. "I'm sorry, he's always like this. He still isn't comfortable with Kanda or Lavi, either. He's afraid they'll ruin my innocence with their vulgarity, or something along those lines."

Well, I didn't blame him when it came to Kanda, that was for sure. I followed Lenalee into the next room, where I found one chair was farther away from everything else, sitting in a corner. Komui was patting a pillow on the couch, a fluffy pink one shaped like a heart, and I saw Lenalee's name stitched into it. It was hard not to laugh.

"Brother, don't make Allen sit all the way over there," Lenalee frowned. Komui glared at me, then smiled hugely at Lenalee.

"But it's his first day here! I must make sure he doesn't do anything to you!" He declared, standing tall, his glasses reflecting the light, only making him seem more dangerous. His black hair was shoulder length, hanging loosely, and a white bean cap was on his head. He wore a black long sleeved shirt, a pair of dress pants, and a pink, frilly apron that said 'Number One Brother'. This guy was insane.

"Don't be mean to him, or else I won't make you any coffee for a week." Lenalee replied offhandedly, and Komui gasped, looking like the most offended person on the face of the earth.

"But your coffee is filled with love! I don't know what I would do without it!" he sniffled, now going dramatically to his knees and curling into himself, and I could hear fake sobbing sounds coming from his body. Lenalee rolled her eyes, gesturing to the couch as she took her spot on her chair. I nodded mutely, shuffling over to the couch and watching Komui continue to make a scene.

"How about you sit next to Allen instead of forcing him to be secluded? That way, you can watch everything he does and stop him that much sooner." Lenalee said, looking at the heap on the floor. A quiet sniffling, and then Komui sat up again, snot coming out of his nose. Fake tears were in his eyes, and he sniffed the snot back up his nose. I held back barf.

"Okay," he said, and in a flash he was standing again. I was starting to get dizzy with how quickly his mood was changing, and I wasn't sure how long I would last in this house.

"Actually, why don't you make us some tea?" Lenalee asked, placing a curious finger to her chin. She smiled warmly, and Komui nodded eagerly as if he was a puppy. Then his gaze turned to me, going from what seemed like adoring obsession to pure evil.

"If you move one inch from that spot, you'll regret it." He hissed, and then stalked away. Lenalee winced.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you." She said, leaning back in her chair. I shook my head, smiling.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "Besides, it's only normal for a brother to be protective. Where are your parents?"

"They died, a long time ago. The classic car crash." The girl gave me a sad smile, and then sighed. "I never got to know them. Komui has been taking care of me for as long as I can remember. I think that's the reason he's so extreme; I'm the only family he has left. He's really not so bad, if you get past the crazy protectiveness and the wining, and he's a manager in an important business. He works hard to give me the best life he can."

"How come you're living in such a small town then?" I asked, doubtful that he was attracted to small areas. He seemed like someone who needed a large area to fit his huge personality.

"He thought it would be wrong to force me to live in a huge city without anyone to watch me since he would have to work all the time, so he found the best paying job in a small town and the best offer was here. I can't even remember when we moved here." Lenalee said, shrugging. "He didn't want to assign a nanny or anything like that, saying that I should be raised by my family and not a stranger."

"Well, it sounds like he has the best at heart." I said, smiling. "Do you like living here?"

"Yeah. The people here are great, and it's just large enough that it's not just some boring little town that you pass on the high way." Our conversation ended there, Komui entering the room with a tray of biscuits, Lenalee's name written on a small piece of paper leaning against one of the cookies. He placed the tray on the table, closest to Lenalee.

"There you go, eat up!" He said, grinning widely. I could feel my mouth watering-when was the last time I had enjoyed an actual cookie? I leaned forward, my hand outstretched, ready to grab one, but a paper fan came out of nowhere and slapped my arm away. "They're for Lenalee only!" Komui insisted, and a high-pitched whistle came from a different room. He ran off, forgetting about the cookies.

"Take one before he gets back," Lenalee said, grabbing a few and holding them out for me. I smiled at her, taking them, and shoved one in my mouth.

"Thank you," I said, still eating. I could feel crumbs falling out of my mouth and landing on my chin. Embarrassed, I wiped them away, swallowing. Lenalee giggled, and I could hear something coming down hard in the kitchen. It sounded like metal hitting a countertop. Lenalee stopped at once, glaring in the direction the sound had come from.

"Oh, honestly. One little laugh isn't saying I'm flirting." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and once again leaning back in her chair. "If I would have known he would be _this_ bad, I wouldn't have brought you here and forced you to deal with this."

"You mean he's not like this with the others?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Sometimes he's even worse with them. He just knows them better, since he had met them before they had ever come here. He has connections from work, so Lavi and Kanda were sort of like play dates when I was little. They were my first friends when I moved here. I remember, because Lavi took a pile of mud and threw it at Kanda's face, and then they started wrestling on the ground. The whole time Lavi kept on insisting that I join in, and when I did, I ended up tackling Kanda. I think it was reflex, but he ended up hitting me on the head and I started to cry. Lavi scolded him for me, and then did a silly trick, while Kanda went and sulked in a corner. It was so cute." Nostalgia entered Lenalee's features, and she smiled. "Things were easier then."

"So Kanda was a brute even then?" I asked, ignoring her last comment. I didn't really agree with her, and it was a subject I'd rather not approach. Lenalee smiled, nodding.

"Oh, yes. He's always been like that, apparently even when he was in diapers. When Komui first met him, on that day actually, he thought he was looking at a little girl who could be best friends with me. Kanda ended up slapping him in the face and kicking him in the shins for that comment. Komui had a bruise on his cheek for a week." I laughed at this, though felt a little pity for Komui. I knew how it felt.

"He still hurts me all the time," I jumped when I heard his voice, turning to find Komui standing in the doorway, now holding a tray carrying a teakettle and three cups. At least he'd added me into this one.

"You can't really blame him, you know. You still make fun of him or say stupid comments, and he just does the job before I can." Lenalee sounded like she was scolding her brother, but her smile clearly said she didn't mind.

"But it's so much fun! He just looks so much like a girl, and then he always looks so serious that it's like he's some kind of brooding super model!" Komui wined, and I winced at the high pitch he had taken on. A sudden banging on the door interrupted Lenalee's reply, and Komui began to grumble under his breath, placing the tray on the table.

He left the room, heading in the direction the door was in, and Lenalee took it upon herself to poor the tea. "It's probably one of the neighbors. They always like to come by," she commented lightly, pouring all three glasses and then taking her own. As we added milk and sugar, and honey in her case, I could hear voices coming from the door.

"…Why you have to come now," Komui wined, the voices coming closer.

"Well, one of her friends told me they were both going to be here," a too-familiar voice replied. My throat tightened, and I spilled tea on my pants as my hands began to shake. Cursing, I put the cup back down and placed my hand on the area that had gotten wet, feeling the hot water burn my skin through the fabric. A moment later, Komui came in, leading in the grinning, familiar face of Lavi.

"Oh! Lavi, why are you here?" Lenalee asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Came to get you two," he replied. "Yuu's already waiting in the car, and we need to go and pick up another good friend. Come on." Going past Lenalee, he headed straight for me and hauled me up by my hood, forcing me to stand if I didn't want to suffocate. I tried to protest, but he continued to drag me by the hood all the way to the door. "Shoes."

"Why do I have to come?" I gasped as he finally let go of my hood. Rubbing my neck, I slipped on my shoes and looked up at him.

"Because, I wanted to have some fun." Lavi said, grinning deviously. I swallowed; generally, when a person said they wanted to have fun like that, it never meant something good.

"H-how?" I asked, feeling like a child in a corner. Lavi gazed down at me, a confident smirk on his face.

"Oh, you know…" he shrugged. "I was thinking of maybe going cliff diving, or tree dangling…" there was a pause. "Of course, _I _wouldn't be doing these things. You would, while I filmed you."

"E-eh?" Fear gripped me; I wasn't very good with heights.

"Lavi, don't do that to him." Lenalee sighed beside me, slipping on a pair of girl skate shoes. It was odd seeing her in something so boyish. She usually wore boots or those tiny things girls always called flats. "Don't worry, Allen, I'll make sure they don't torture you."

"Thanks," I whispered in relief. She winked. Lavi looked genuinely disappointed, opening the door and dragging his feet outside. Lenalee followed after him, and just as I was about to trail after, a hand went on my shoulder. I turned a little to look at Komui, who wasn't even looking at me but rather was watching Lavi and Lenalee enter the red sports car that was sitting in front of the house. "Yes?"

"Watch out for her, will you?" he sighed, letting go of my shoulder. "I don't trust Lavi, he tries to get her involved in things I'd rather she didn't even know about."

"Uhm…" I paused, wondering how I should respond to the sudden request, but Komui gave me a light push and I was out the door. I didn't turn around to ask, because the door slammed as soon as I was outside, but I stood there for a minute, extremely confused. Why would he ask me, when I had only met him a little while ago and he hadn't even wanted me near her? A long honk came from the fancy car, giving me an idea of who was driving.

"Allen, hurry up!" came Lavi's voice, excited and eager. I sighed, jumping down the steps and going at a fast pace towards the car. Another honk emitted, and I ground my teeth. I definitely knew who was driving. I reached the car, resisting the urge to somehow scratch the paint, and slipped into the back, where Lavi sat. Lenalee was sitting up front, and as I had thought Kanda was at the wheel.

"God damn bean sprout, you're as fast as a snail," he snapped, stepping on the gas. I didn't say anything, keeping my mouth shut and instead hoping we wouldn't get in an accident. Even just pulling out he was faster than Fou. Beside me, Lavi sat grinning from ear to ear, looking like a kid at Christmas.

"What was with the sudden decision to go out?" I asked, trying to divert my attention from the deadly speed we were going. Lavi wiggled his eyebrows when he looked at me, giving a sudden clap of his hands.

"The fair starts today," he said. I tried to remember news of a fair, but after sitting there for over thirty seconds still brain dead I realized I had either not been paying attention when it had been mentioned or no one had told me. Lavi rolled his eyes, his grin never fading. "Oh, come on. You paid such little attention to the town that you didn't even know about the October Fair?"

"I forgot about that!" Lenalee gasped, now also excited. I took a brief glance at Kanda, and found that he was still scowling, maybe even more so than before. Maybe he didn't like fairs, or maybe it was just because he was stuck with us, but I had a feeling that he was in an even worse mood now. "Oh, it'll be so much fun! I wonder if they'll have anything new this year."

"So does this fair happen on the first weekend of October, or does it just start on the first?" I asked, since it was Thursday today. Usually fairs started on a Thursday, cheap on the first day, special deals on the second, and then a week where they had regular prices. However, some fairs were different, instead starting at some odd date because the date held significance. Or at least that's what I think happens. I never really paid attention to fairs, or events like them.

"The first weekend." Lenalee chirped, looking just as eager as Lavi. I just nodded silently, looking at the leather seat in front of me, concentrating on the detail and avoiding the window at all costs. As I sat silently, Lenalee and Lavi discussing rides and food, a thought occurred to me, one that was pleasant because it would get me out of this, but embarrassing at the same time.

"What about money?" I asked. "I don't have any with me."

"That's fine, I was planning on paying for you anyways," Lavi replied. I glared at him, and he looked straight back at me, still smiling, but the excitement left his eyes. "Don't hesitate on buying anything. It's all covered."

"You'd better be paying for me, too. Dragging me out here because you wan to 'have fun', you gad damn well owe me." Kanda snapped from the front, letting go of the wheel to make quotation marks in the air. My breath caught as we swerved, but Kanda was in control again in no time. I was definitely experiencing my worst car ride ever.

"Nope, you're going to pay for yourself and Lenalee." Lavi sounded a little too cheerful at this, and even Lenalee looked a little scared suddenly. Something in Kanda must have cracked, because he came to a screeching stop in the middle of a deserted road.

"What-did-you-just-say-you-god-damned-rabbit?" he hissed out in clenched teeth. A shiver ran down my spine, and fear doused my heart. He sounded so angry, and acid layered every syllable, that he sounded even worse than Master. The sudden reminding of Master also made me remember something else.

"Does any one have a phone?" I blurted. Everyone turned to look at me, surprised that I was able to ask such a question in such a tense moment. At the moment, I didn't really care that Kanda was angry. I cared that Master was _going_ to be angry if I didn't call right away. I looked to Lavi, who was already over his shock, and he nodded mutely. Rummaging in his pants pocket, he pulled out the smallest, most slim cell phone I had ever seen.

"Be quick. I don't know if Yuu can handle much more." He said, this time for sure winking. I could tell by the way he held his eye closed for a moment longer than necessary for blinking. I just nodded, taking the phone and dialing the number. A moment later, the car completely silent and tense, the ringing stopped to be replaced by a slightly slurred, deep voice.

"What you want?" Master asked, and it surprised me that he was already starting to get unintelligible. It was only around five in the evening.

"Master?" I asked, and there was a pause on the other line. Suddenly, the tension wasn't just in the car.

"Where the hell are you calling from?" he snapped. I winced, and let out a small breath.

"I'm with a few friends…" I tried not to look at Kanda when I said this, instead looking through the window. It wasn't sickening now that the car was still. "I'll probably be out for the night."

"Oh you will, will you? Says who?" Master asked, his voice creeping slowly into the cold voice I knew all too well.

"Well…I just thought I could have a night out," I said slowly, carefully. "It's not like I'll be gone until the first light of the day, it's a school night."

"Listen to me, boy. I didn't take you in so you could go running around with your friends." Master was hissing now, which wasn't a good sign. I swallowed, thinking about my options, and took the most sure, and most embarrassing and pride killing way possible.

"Please, Master? I beg you, please let me go out for the night?" I whispered, my face turning red as I turned fully away from the others. "I'll make you your favorite dinner tomorrow." I could tell this was what he was waiting for, because his breath turned from frightening to light in just moments.

"You'd better make extra, because we might have company tomorrow night." I sighed in relief, but knew I had been manipulated. He was toying with me.

"Company?" I asked, and a small cough reminded me of the current company I was in myself. "Uh, I'll call later," I choked. "Thank you, Master."

"Whatever," came the reply, and there was a click. He was gone. I closed the phone shut, handing it back to Lavi, and found that Kanda was glaring directly at me, his jaw twitching in agitation.

"God damn bean sprout," he muttered, and the engine purred to life as he turned back around. Beside me, Lavi was shaking with laughter, and Lenalee was looking out the window, a worried frown on her face. The car lurched forward, and I took to looking at Lavi quickly.

"You said we were picking someone up," I said. I didn't say anything else, knowing he would get the point.

"Yeah, a friend from school. Actually, he's in the club too." Lavi pushed back, making himself comfortable and spreading his legs out. "And please, Allen, for the love of god, do not make fun of his hat."

"What's wrong with his…uhm…hat?" I asked, confused. Lavi just shook his head, putting his hands behind his head.

"You'll see." Was all he said, closing his eyes. I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting anything else out of him, so I instead turned my attention to the back of Lenalee's head. It seemed that both Kanda and Lenalee had been listening to mine and Lavi's brief conversation, and were both extremely quiet. The only sound was the hum of the car as it sped to whatever destination Kanda had in mind.

"So, uh…Allen, what did you think of my brother?" Lenalee asked nervously, trying to start a conversation, and Kanda tensed suddenly. I could tell by the way his hands suddenly tightened on the wheel, and, mostly just scared for my life, I chose my answer carefully.

"Well, I guess he's…" I paused, wondering what reaction Kanda was looking for. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no clue. Why would he tense at the question in the first place, anyways? Trying my hardest to pick an answer that wouldn't anger Kanda, and one that wouldn't offend Lenalee, I muttered, "pretty interesting."

"I'm sorry if he scared you. He's sort of dramatic." Lenalee said apologetically. I shrugged, even though she couldn't see me. Kanda had loosened his grip.

"It's alright, I don't really mind." I said lightly, not really fazed by Komui's behavior. He was definitely odd, and maybe a little too drastic about things, but I could tell he meant well. Why else would he have stopped me in the door? "He seems to only want what's best for you."

"Yeah, he really does," Lavi muttered beside me. Kanda grunted in agreement, surprising me.

"I know, I just wish he could take things a bit more…I don't know, easily. Whenever I even mention a name that sounds like a guy's he jumps down my throat, and I swear I've heard him muttering about marriage in the kitchen once." Lenalee winced, looking out the window as Lavi chuckled.

"Was he really? Oh, that would've been awesome to record!" he stomped his feet, but ceased immediately when Kanda shot a sharp glare through the rearview mirror. Another tense silence followed, the conversation seeming to end with Lavi's idiotic comment. This time, he didn't close his eyes, instead staring absently out the window. After a minute more of driving, he let out a sigh, dropping his arms. "It's starting to get dark. How much longer?"

I was confused by the question, and didn't check to see if his statement was correct as we were still going at a deadly speed. I _was_ starting to wonder where we were; with Kanda's lunatic driving, we should probably be on the country side by now. "His house is right there," Kanda answered. I blinked, looking ahead of me and trying to see what he saw. Unfortunately, even just looking out the front window made me feel sick.

"Alright, we're here!" Lavi sat up straight and undid his seatbelt, which I hadn't even noticed he had on. A second later the car came to a stop, this time a bit more slowly than earlier.

"Where are we?" I asked, Lenalee peering out the window towards a small house with all the lights on.

"A little ways away from town." Lavi replied, opening his door. Kanda followed him out, Lenalee staying in the car with me as they went to the door. There was a brief silence as we watched them go to the door, and I could faintly hear Lavi's knock. A second later, a weary-looking woman opened the door, holding a small child in her arms. Two more children pushed past her to peer curiously up at the visitors.

"This is where Daisya lives. He's really nice, if you get past all the pranks and rude comments." Lenalee said from up front, watching the exchange at the door intently. I could hear Lavi asking for someone, and the woman pushed on one of the kids' heads, sending them off to fetch whoever had been asked for. Kanda leaned against the wall silently, looking like his usual brooding self, while Lavi stood in the doorway grinning widely.

"Daisya goes to our school?" I asked, still watching the house.

"Yeah, he has to bike everyday. His mom doesn't have a car and his dad leaves extra early. His mom stays at home and watches his two younger sisters, one four and the other three. His brother his seven, so he goes to the elementary school down the road from here. Daisya usually drops him off and picks him up." Lenalee explained, finishing just as a teenaged boy shoved past the weary woman, looking a little disgruntled.

"Sounds like a house full." I said softly, the three teenaged boys now heading towards us and the door shutting to the small house. I tried guessing how many bedrooms were in there, and came up with three. Maybe the one named Daisya and his brother shared a room, while the two girls shared another? That way the parents were together, too. I couldn't imagine living so tightly.

"Oh yeah, it is. Daisya's going to be moving out pretty soon, though, as soon as he graduates at the end of the year. He's the poorest member of the club." I was a little shocked that Lenalee would say this, but she didn't say it as if this made him lower than her. Instead, she sounded sympathetic, as if she wanted to help him. "We're working on getting him a scholarship, so he can continue his schooling."

"That sounds…nice." I muttered, and noticed for the first time that the new addition to our troupe had a slightly funny shaped head. I took full notice of the fact that the day was indeed receding. As he got closer, I realized it wasn't the boy's head that was funnily shaped, but rather it was a hat…with bells.

"Allen, come on out!" Lavi called from outside, not bothering to open the car door. I shook my head stubbornly, not caring that they wouldn't be able to see me since there were no lights on in the car. After a moment, there was a heavy sigh, and the door opened. The car now illuminated, Lavi slid in, looking a little offended, followed by the newcomer.

At first, I was a little surprised by his appearance. I didn't remember seeing this person during my time in the club, and I was pretty sure I would have remembered him. His slightly long, softly spiked brown hair was covered by a court jester hat, the bells tingling as he got into the car and one particularly large one hanging off the tip of the hat, and cat-like emerald eyes stared into mine. The two dark stripes that started out thick and then turned into a point that lead from under his eyes to his cheek bones were a deep magenta, and I had a feeling it wasn't just eyeliner. Now I understood want Lavi had meant about not making fun of his hat.

"Uh…hi," I greeted stupidly, sticking my hand out. He didn't take it, raising his eyebrow speculatively. I dropped my hand, blushing a little and looking away, not sure what else to say.

"Well that was dull," He said, his voice drawling out. "Let's head out, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go," Lenalee added in, a little nervously. I noticed her glancing at me in the side view mirror, and I tried to give an encouraging smile. I failed miserably. The car purred into life, and suddenly we were speeding away again. I quickly diverted my attention away from the outside, instead looking at the back of the leather seat and concentrating on what we might do at the fair. I wasn't sure how many rides I would be able to go on before I puked.

"Kind of squishy back here, huh?" Lavi muttered, directly into my ear. I froze, my heart accelerating suddenly. Before he had said anything, I hadn't even noticed the fact that we were now touching by our arms and legs. If I were to turn my head, I would probably find my face touching his. The sudden awareness of our proximity made me nervous again.

The ride seemed faster this time, maybe because I was so occupied by how close I was to the irritating redhead, and I couldn't be more thankful to open the door and fall out of the car. The sound of distant screaming could be heard, and I tried to ignore this, instead focusing on the fresh air and the fact that I was no longer in the car with the speeding maniac and the too-close rabbit.

"You've got a weak stomach, huh?" a hand patted my shoulder mockingly, and I winced. This wasn't Lavi, who lingered longer than necessary and had slightly warmer, bigger hands, and Kanda wouldn't dare touch me if only because he hated me, while Lenalee didn't exactly have the voice of a male.

"A little, yes." I muttered, turning to look the odd boy, Daisya, fully in the face.

"Well that's too bad," Lavi grinned, stepping up beside me. "I mean, we have to go on every single ride."

"Say what?" I spurted as soon as he said this. It was odd for me to say something like that, but they were the first words that had left my mouth.

"Every-single-ride," Lavi emphasized every syllable, smirking. He was very obviously enjoying this new discovery. "You have no choice, Allen. I'm forcing you to, and I'm pulling rank as your elder."

"You're only a year older than me!" I snapped, backing away a little. I knew Lavi was most likely stronger than me-it wasn't exactly like I worked out-and the only chance I had was to run away from him, although I had no idea how fast he was able to run.

"That's all you can come up with?" Lavi asked, giving a fake look of disappointment. "What happened to you being second best in the school?"

"What happened to freedom rights?" I retorted, crossing my arms stubbornly and planting my feet. I tried not to show that I wanted desperately to just run.

"They don't exist between you and me, how about that?" Lavi asked innocently, folding his arms behind his back.

"Yeesh, you really like to bug him, huh?" This new, familiar voice made my heart leap. Thankfully, this voice wasn't full of anger like from the last time I had seen her, instead the usual taunting tone she liked to take on. "Hey, shortie. Hope you're ready for the rides, because I don't think Lavi will let you go on this one."

"Hey, Fou!" Daisya sounded happier than before, his face going a little brighter. I looked over to where Fou stood, and she grinned back with equal enthusiasm.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. It sucks you're a grade higher than me." she replied casually. Lavi bounced on the balls of his feet, letting his arms drop.

"Oh, goody! Our final member for the group!" He clasped his hands together, grinning fully. "Alright, so here's the groupings and the plan. Kanda, you go with Lenalee, Daisya, you go with Fou. I'll go along with Allen, since there's no girls for us, but once we scam a couple we'll be on our separate paths too…maybe."

"Maybe?!" I yelled out. "And what do you mean, when we scam a couple? I'm not going on some date with some random girl!"

"You're so silly, Allen." Lavi chided, looking at me with mocking disapproval. "Alright, enough time wasted. We have four hours and then we all meet back here. Ready, set, go!"

"Hey, wait-!" I tried to stop him from grabbing my arm, but he took a firm hold of it and tugged. Unable to break the hold, I was dragged off towards the fair, Fou and Daisya following quickly after and Lenalee and Kanda standing awkwardly as they watched us go. Had Lavi been planning this all day, or had he just made this stuff up while he was going to see Kanda or something? After being dragged all the way to the line, Lavi still didn't let go. When he didn't let go after an entire minute, I tugged on my arm. "Lavi!"

"Oops, sorry." Lavi grinned at me. "I'm just a little excited. I love fairs." This stalled my thought process a little. I stared into his eyes, and found the first real emotion I had ever truly seen there. Lavi was really excited, and nothing was going to bring his mood down. Well, maybe something could, but I didn't try and figure out what. I was too amazed that I had actually found out something about the mysterious, odd Lavi.

"You still haven't let me go," I mumbled feebly. For a second, the grip tightened, and then Lavi dropped my arm. There was a silence for a moment, but it wasn't an awkward silence. For some reason, although I felt awkward about myself around him, I didn't feel awkward about _him_. Most of the things he did just seemed sort of natural to me, as if they were just a part of him, even though I had still only known him for two weeks.

The line moved slowly, but eventually we were inside the fair, bracelets and all. Lavi was acting like a five year old, looking at everything with new, excited eyes. It almost felt as if he was completely vulnerable right now in his excitement. He was at the mercy of everything around him because it fascinated him so much.

"Let's go on that ride first!" Lavi pointed to a ride that looked like a spaceship, spinning so fast that the colored lights were straight lines. A rather long line followed it, and just looking at the ride made me feel sick. Unfortunately, Lavi wouldn't wait for an answer, pulling me towards the line eagerly.

Five rides and five near-puking experiences later, Lavi allowed me to have a break. We sat down at a vacant bench, and I sagged low in my spot. I was trying to stop my head from spinning when I noticed Lavi looking at me inquisitively. "What?"

"You really don't like rides, do you?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. He almost seemed like a child, the way his eyes sparkled in the lights. I shrugged, taking a deep breath before answering.

"It didn't help that Kanda had to drive so fast. I just don't like it when things get blurry, because it makes me dizzy." I sat up a little straighter, rubbing my face. "What about you? Don't you ever get motion sickness?"

"Not really. I find going fast exciting more than anything." He replied casually, shrugging. It seemed to close that subject, so I asked about something else instead.

"Did you really mean it when you said we'd find a couple of girls? I mean…that we would get separated?" I asked. I wasn't sure why, but the thought of him leaving me seemed almost harmful. I couldn't imagine being that lonely in this place, with some person I didn't even know. He didn't say anything for a bit, making me wonder if he would bother answering. I busied myself by looking around at the various stalls displayed in the area.

"No, not really," He whispered unexpectedly, and the sudden change in tone made me look at him. For the first time since we had arrived here, Lavi looked like the usual guarded redhead with the fake smile. It sort of put me off balance, how easily his defenses had picked back up.

"What's wrong?" I blurted out before thinking. I immediately wished I hadn't said anything. How would I explain how easily I had noticed the shift in his emotions? Surely it said something about how much I watched him…the redhead frowned when he looked at me again.

"Nothing." He said flatly, and I winced. "Allen…I want to ask a personal question."

"You do?" I asked, now totally confused. Lavi smiled gently, and then stood up.

"Yeah…but I think this conversation is better set in a more romantic mood." I frowned at this, standing up with him. Romantic? What did he mean by that? A sudden twinkle entered his eye, one that I had become too familiar with, and he looked past my shoulder. I turned, following his gaze, and immediately saw what he was looking at.

"You want to talk about your question…on the Ferris Wheel?" I choked, and Lavi grinned.

"Yup." He said, taking my wrist and dragging me towards the surprisingly short line. Usually, the Ferris Wheel was the one ride that had the most people. "I promise that after this I'll buy you whatever treats you want, and then after that we can go to whatever food place you want to go to, and you can order as much as you want."

"Okay." I said, without hesitating. If food was involved, then I didn't mind going on a ride that was rather slow, and was relatively safe…even if it was the highest ride, and the longest, and didn't have any sort of security besides a belt and an iron bar to keep us strapped down. I swallowed a little nervously, looking up at the intimidating Ferris Wheel.

We were joining the line in no time, and the closer we got to the ride the more nervous I felt. Now it wasn't just the ride that had me nervous, what Lavi had said earlier was starting to catch up with me. What personal question would he want to ask on a 'romantic' ride? Since when did Lavi have to bother with certain surroundings to ask me a question? Usually, if he had a question he asked it no matter where we were. Unfortunately, I usually answered completely honestly.

Soon, we were being shuffled onto one of the two-seated benches that rocked even with the smallest of movements, and the iron bar was coming down on our laps. The man gave us a strange smile, winking, and then let us go. I stared in blank surprise straight ahead of me, wondering what that was about, but Lavi was laughing heartily.

"Wow, these days I guess they really do see a lot of different couples." I turned to stare at him, processing his words and working them together until…

"He thought we were a couple?!" I gasped out, horrified. Wonderful, somebody thought we looked like a couple. Now that I thought about it, all of the people who worked here had been giving us strange looks. Mortified, I covered my face with my hands. The bench swayed, and I immediately grabbed onto the bar again.

"Don't be so stiff, Allen," Lavi laughed. "It doesn't matter what others think, does it?" Something about the way he said it made me think over my answer instead of the usual blurted out response. I paused, thinking for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh.

"No, I guess not. At least we know we're just friends." A sudden silence fell over us, and Lavi was looking at me in mild surprise.

"So you think of me as a friend?" he asked after we had stopped and loaded three times. I raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, yeah…I mean, it's not like we hate each other…or is that just on my part?" I asked, suddenly a little worried. Lavi laughed, rolling his eyes.

"No, I think of you as a friend, too. Actually, my question is kind of centered around that." That surprised me. I looked at him questioningly, and he smiled gently. His eyes let down a bit of their defense, but not all of it. "I just wanted to know…what do you think of me, Allen? As a person…as a friend."

Well, now I was stumped. I sat in silence for at least five minutes, thinking over the question and trying to sum up the best answer, but unfortunately nothing seemed to really come to me. I sighed in frustration, and suddenly the Ferris Wheel began to move in complete circles. They had finished loading it.

"It looks pretty neat, huh?" Lavi asked, no longer looking at me. He was looking out at the grounds, at all of the glittering lights and the people running around to get to different rides and games. Beyond the fair, the town was just visible, and a vast wood stood between the fair and the town. A nearly full moon hung in the sky, brilliant and unbelievably bright. Even with my fear of heights, I had to admit the view was beautiful.

"Mysterious…" I whispered, not just answering his second question. "And unique." There was another pause, and I smiled gently. "But much more wonderful when it reveals its secrets."

"You think?" Lavi murmured as we lowered. I grinned.

"Yeah. It just takes time, right? Eventually…eventually, the two of us will be able to truly say we're friends, right?" I looked at him, turning hopeful. Maybe it was the beautiful view, or maybe it was just because I needed reassurance because it really felt like we might fall at any second, but I wanted more than anything for Lavi to tell me what I wanted to hear.

"I thought we already could." He replied. Then a grin played across his face. "Right, bean sprout?"

"My name is Allen." I snapped, glaring at him. Slowly, I started to smile. "Silly rabbit."

"What's with the rabbit thing?" Lavi asked, raising his eyebrows. I laughed.

"Well, you're too energetic and jumpy to be any other animal." I replied with a shrug. He gave a dramatic sigh, but didn't seem too bothered by it. "So…what's with Daisya's hat?"

"He likes bells," Lavi said flatly. I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously," I muttered. "Does he like clown jesters too?" Lavi nodded. "Why?"

"Well, why do you hate heights and love food and zone out all the time?" Lavi retorted, looking a little smug. Then he frowned, and rubbed a hand over his face. "I wasn't being completely honest with you."

"About what?" I asked, perplexed. I didn't recall anything he could've been dishonest about, but maybe that was just my imagination.

"Well, my actual question wasn't really about me. I kind of lied." He peeked through his fingers at me. "It's just that, you know, I don't really know how to ask these kind of questions, so I decided on asking a different question that wasn't so difficult to answer. I didn't think you'd take five minutes to answer me, but whatever. Anyways, I didn't want to ask too personal a question without first knowing where our footing was, and now that I knew for sure that you think of me as a friend, I think I can ask you…"

"You talk to much," I stated simply. "It wasn't really a lie. You just changed questions half way through. I didn't really think that was your actual question…you don't usually pause when you have something to ask."

"Yeah, you're right," Lavi grinned sheepishly, but his eyes remained emotionless this time. There was something wrong now. I could tell by the way he was suddenly much less relaxed, sitting up straighter and locking his limbs together. "Well, I've been wondering for a while about your past. When Lenalee told me about your exchange with Road, I got even more curious. She said you looked scared when Road brought up your step father…that you looked like you'd rather die than be there at that moment." Now he was eyeing me cautiously, and I could feel a cold fear creeping up on me. When had Lenalee had the time to tell Lavi what had happened? I'd been with her all day since Lunch, except for when she went to the washroom…I composed my face carefully, trying not to show the sudden betrayal and hurt that I felt. "What happened to you, Allen? Why don't you smile?"

"I always smile," I whispered. This was going too far.

"You smile the same way I do." Lavi replied, turning cold. I glared at him, dropping my innocent look and giving him the exact same expression back. For the first time, I showed Lavi my true colors.

"What does it matter to you?" I snapped. The Ferris Wheel stopped-they were beginning to unload.

"I can understand, Allen, that we all have secrets." Lavi whispered, and his previous mask was back, turning into a soft expression. "I just wanted to know why you have those eyes…my eyes."

"Maybe you understand having secrets, but it doesn't mean you understand the secrets themselves." I muttered, looking away. It felt like we had truly communicated for the first time just now, and for some reason I felt a little relieved. I realized now that Lavi had seen all the things in me that I had seen in him. There was no hiding from someone who was the exact same as you, but just how similar were we really? "I won't tell you anything unless you tell me just as much in return, and I don't think you want to share anything, so I guess that leaves us neutral for a while."

"I guess so," Lavi replied. We weren't cold with each other, we didn't glare at each other, we just understood. I think Lavi was the first person I had ever been able to truly communicate with in this state, without having to put on a fake smile or pretend to be sympathetic. It was refreshing, and I knew that to a point, Lavi really did understand me, just like I probably understood him.

"Thank you," I whispered. Lavi just rolled his eyes, and we reached the end of our ride.

"The air's suddenly too serious. Come on, let's go take a trip in the haunted house!" He grinned at me, his eyes back to that twinkling innocence.

"H…haunted house?" I whispered, staring at him in horror. The man who was unloading reached us, pulling the bar up and giving us that same smile from before. I ignored him this time, stumbling off the ride and beginning to run. I didn't look back, and I didn't think about what I was doing, I just ran.

I finally figured out just how fast Lavi was. "Get off me!" I wined, trying to push the ecstatic redhead off. Squirming, I tried to turn over, a little winded from his sudden tackle to the ground. His grip didn't slacken, but I definitely succeeded in turning around. Admittedly, I had expected him to turn around with me so that he was underneath me and I would be able to stand up, but I ended up turning around in his arms, and he remained exactly where he was, and our faces touched.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just our faces that touched. "GAH!" I yelled out, pushing with all my strength. Lavi fell off, landing on the ground with a shocked expression on his face while I began to frantically wipe at my mouth. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god….I just kissed a guy!" and everyone was watching, too. I fell to my knees, cradling my head. "I feel so impure…"

"Aw, you don't mean that…" Lavi said, crawling up beside me. He still looked sort of shocked, but otherwise fine. "It was an accident, acc-i-dent."

"Why is it always me?" I moaned, slumping forward. Lavi just laughed, and I had a feeling he was enjoying himself. God damn rabbit.

End Chapter

A/N: So the ending was a little off, but that's okay, right? I wasn't exactly sure where I should've ended it, because I didn't want to make it seem like a cliffhanger. Originally I had intended on ending it at the end of the Ferris Wheel ride, but I thought that since it's the seventh chapter I decided it was about time they get in a bit of physical action, even if it is on accident. The actual romance won't start until around Christmas (in the story), so it'll be a while. Next chapter is going to be one of my favorites.

I'm sorry if they seem a little OOC in this chapter, but I'm a bit delusional right now, since I'm really sick, and I can't actually concentrate on my work as well as usual, but I wanted to finish this chapter last night since it was half done, and then my mom kicked me off before I could make sure it was perfect, so I ended up writing today too. Also, I thought I'd add Daisya in, just as a welcoming for the new story. Just telling you now, there isn't any romance between Fou and Daisya.

Sorry if the Ferris Wheel ride was a bit odd…it was another thing I wasn't so sure about. And also, I made this chapter extra long, and with a bit of extra Lavi, because of my lack of both in the last chapter. I hope you forgive me. Please review and let me know what you think! (insert smiley face)


	8. Superstitions

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Note-Unfortunately, those lines that create sections don't work on my computer. Sorry. The italics are Allen's past. It'll have gone full circle by the end of the story. That's the plan. Also, about the sudden upload-that was actually for MGA, my other story, and was an accident. Sorry.

Chapter 8: Superstitions

_Allen stared at the door absently, waiting for someone to come through it. He still didn't understand why they were at the doctor's office-Mana seemed perfectly fine, and he wasn't sick, so who were they here for? Well, maybe Mana was sick, he just wasn't telling Allen. The thought sort of depressed him, that Mana wouldn't tell him everything, but he felt that if it were important then Mana would eventually tell him._

_The door opened, and he looked up expectantly. Mana stood there, smiling and saying thank you to the doctor before turning to me. "Come on, Allen, let's head home now." The small boy jumped off his chair and clutched at Mana's hand. The man looked surprised for a second, but quickly squeezed the child's hand and smiled down at him._

_"Are you okay?" Allen asked._

_"Perfect." Was the only reply he received._

Maybe it was because it was Friday, but I felt oddly elated as I headed towards the school. The only thing that had me down about the weekend was the fact that tomorrow would be the club for the first time as a member. It would only last a few hours though, so I didn't really care. I still had another day and a half all to myself. I began to hum under my breath, thinking positive thoughts about sleeping in and watching movies.

"Ack! Watch out!" I blinked, the world reforming in my eyes from my brief daydreaming, and I found myself walking straight towards a stack of books. Wondering why on earth those would be there, I came to a sudden halt inches away from the pile. I looked over to see who had warned me to find a door opened to what appeared to be a Dodge Caliber, with at least twice as many books in there as there was on the ground. Sitting on a seat was an odd looking woman, looking like she hadn't slept in ages and with tousled black hair and thick black eyeliner.

"Uh…would you like some help?" I offered hesitantly, the woman dropping the arm that had just been reaching out for me. She looked at me tragically, and then shook her head.

"How could I possibly ask a student to help? Oh, I fail at my job…I can't even move books…" She put her face in her hands, her body shaking with sudden sobs. Unsure of what to do about the sudden outburst, I moved towards the woman.

"Are you okay, miss?" I asked, reaching out to touch her. She flinched away, her sobs becoming louder as she fell backwards and curled up in a ball on the seat. A few books fell on her, and the cries miraculously became louder.

"Oh, I'm so miserable and worthless! How can I deserve to live?" she sobbed out, the words barely understandable. I raised both my eyebrows, a little incredulous that she had gotten this way just because I had almost walked into a pile of books. I was pretty sure I was the one who was at fault for something like that.

"Miranda!" a voice called, a little hysterical and definitely male. I turned, and very nearly fainted. Dracula was running straight at me, with large pouty lips and his hair the same style as a Dracula wig would be, a few gray streaks in the black color. He wore a long billowy cloak, only making him more suspicious, and his skin was way too pale. "Miranda, are you alright?"

"A-Alistair…" the woman sobbed, sitting up a little. Her eyes were red with tears, but somehow the eyeliner didn't smudge at all. Maybe she purposefully bough water-proof eyeliner…it certainly seemed like she did this a lot. The Dracula look-alike came to a halt directly beside me, his eyes wide with worry. I half expected him to tear out my throat, but he just ignored me, reaching for the woman.

"Oh, Miranda…what happened?" He asked, his eyes glistening with what looked like tears. Were these two actors or something?

"I…I'm so worthless…even a student…" She paused there, letting a sob escape, and then continued. "He even had to offer to help me, because I'm so useless!"

"You're not the worthless one, I am!" the man declared, now also beginning to cry. I began to back away, unsure of what was happening in front of me, and bumped into a solid, warm figure. Wondering who on earth would show up next (maybe a zombie or a demon), I turned around, only to be completely surprised.

"Hiya, Allen!" Lavi grinned at me, and immediately I winced. I still hadn't forgiven him for kissing me at the fair…well, technically he didn't really kiss me, but it was still his fault. He looked over my shoulder, taking no notice of my actions, and raised both eyebrows. He let out a low whistle, leaning back into a casual stance. "Well, what've you gotten yourself into this time?"

"Nothing!" I snapped immediately. Lavi turned his gaze to me, his expression unchanging.

"You sounded a little defensive there…you sure you didn't do anything?" he asked, waggling his brows.

"He didn't do anything!" The woman suddenly cried from behind me. I stiffened, turning to look at them. I was starting to get a little confused now. The woman stood, wiping her face and looking at Lavi with pitiful eyes. "I was the one who was wrong…I was the one who left those books in such an inconvenient spot, and who didn't make sure that no one was coming. I'm sorry!"

"Ah…" I raised my hands in defense, smiling gently at them. "Really, I'm the one who should have been watching where I was going. They really aren't in an inconvenient place at all…I was walking too close to the edge of the sidewalk."

"You're too kind…Even though…" the woman sniffled, still wiping away tears. The Dracula man was also wiping his eyes, and he took a step beside the woman. A hand suddenly clutched my wrist, and I looked back to find a nervously smiling Lavi. He seemed to be looking straight at the man, and I blinked, confused. I shook his hand off, and he glanced at me for a moment before looking back at the man. What was with him?

"Thank you for defending Miranda…" the man said, bowing twice. I looked back at Lavi, who didn't look relaxed quite yet, and I suppressed a laugh. He was a superstitious type, it seemed. "But I have to say that it is my fault, since I was the one who asked her to stack them there."

"Er…really, it's nothing," I said, letting out a slightly exasperated sigh as I slouched a little. Did they do nothing but blame themselves for everything? It had been maybe five minutes and all they had done was blame themselves for the silliest thing. "Where exactly are you taking those books, anyways?"

"Huh?" The woman, I'm guessing her name was Miranda, looked up from her sniffling. "Oh, we were planning on bringing them to the school… but I'm afraid we may have gotten a little lost." She admitted, slumping forward. "I didn't check the map properly…"

"The high school?" Lavi perked up from behind me. He didn't sound as scared as he seemed to have been.

"Yes," Miranda said feebly. "I'm so pathetic I can't even follow directions…"

"So why are you unloading your car?" I asked, surprised.

"We were planning on reorganizing it, since they were falling everywhere, because I didn't pack them properly," the man said, looking utterly defeated. I felt a little tired suddenly, as if their constant blame on themselves was draining my energy.

"So you're the two new teachers?" Lavi asked from beside me. "I didn't realize we were getting two vampires to teach-" I cut him off abruptly by covering his mouth with my hand. I glared at him pointedly, and then turned to the two adults. He began to clutch at my arm, struggling, but I didn't budge.

"Don't worry, the school is right up the road from here, we're actually headed that way ourselves. If you'd like, we could help you put the books back in the car, or even carry them to the school for you?" I asked tenderly, not releasing my hold on Lavi. He stuck his tongue out, surprising me, and I immediately withdrew. "Ew! You licked me!"

"And I was suffocating! What'd you expect me to do?" Lavi retorted playfully, crossing his arms in a mocking manner. "Jeeze, be nice to your elders."

"How many times do I have to say that you're only a year older than me?!" I snapped, grinding my teeth.

"Oh, come on…" Lavi began, but was cut off when an obvious giggle came from the older woman. She noticed us staring at her in sudden shock and immediately the smile faded away, to be replaced by sudden horror.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to laugh at you!" She cried out, stepping forward. I quickly raised my hands, shaking my head.

"It doesn't matter," I said as fast as I could without sounding like something unintelligible. Behind me, Lavi laughed.

"Actually, Allen, it sort of does. Don't you know it's rude to laugh at people who are arguing?" he asked pointedly, and when I turned to see if he was actually being serious, I found a playful smirk on his face. Grinding my teeth, I clenched my fist and pulled back, ready to punch him, when the woman threw herself on me, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried out, and I could hear the male crying near the car. I desperately pushed Miranda off of me, her arms securely around my neck as she sobbed into my shirt. I wondered if I would be able to wring it out it would get so wet.

"Lavi!" I called, my voice sounding dangerous even to me. "Take it back, now!"

"I don't wanna." Lavi wined in a childish tone. My teeth snapped audibly and, with Miranda still clinging to me and crying, I punched Lavi on the arm. He winced, and out of the corner of my eye I could see him rubbing the spot I had hit. I felt a little pride in the fact that I had hurt him, but when a particularly odd sound came from the crying woman I started concentrating on the more pressing matters.

"Miss, please…" I whispered, prying at her fingers gently. "Crying won't get you anywhere."

"But I…I…" she sobbed out, but her fingers fell loose and her arms fell to her side. She sniffled silently as she pulled away, not looking up. I looked behind her to where the male was still crying, and sighed.

"Will he be okay?" I asked her, and she nodded mutely. "Can you tell me your names?"

"Miranda Lotto and Alistair Krory." She whispered, her voice still thick from crying. "I'm so sorry that you have to see us like this."

"It's fine, really. Now, since Lavi and I need to get to school, and apparently so do you, I think we should take our leave and let you two get organized." I said calmly. I often had to go into a business-like mode when Master got too drunk to even string two words together, and as such I had experience with things like this. It also helped in instances when Master's girlfriends would be left at the house when he disappeared, leaving a note saying to be out by noon. I was conveniently always home when things like that happened (more like he planned his timing precisely).

"Right, right!" Lavi said cheerily beside me. He placed his arm on my shoulder, but I didn't bother looking at him. Instead, I continued to stare straight at Miranda. Lavi continued to talk pointlessly behind me, though I didn't listen to a word he said, giving Miranda a kind smile and a short wave before walking off. "…And I bet they'll be really happy to-hey, wait a minute! Allen, don't just leave me here!"

"Then don't talk so much," I replied. Lavi caught up with me easily, waving behind him, and then peered curiously at me.

"You really kept your calm back there," he said. I just shrugged. "You were kind of rude for not even saying bye, though."

"We'll see them soon, if they're teaching at the school now." I muttered, not really caring. My good mood had left me, and I was left wishing I could turn around and hide under the covers of my bed to sleep.

"I wonder what grade they're teaching…?" Lavi trailed off, leaving the rhetorical question in the air as we walked towards the school. Nothing else was said, and I had a feeling that Lavi was purposefully not talking to me. When we reached the street the school was on, Lavi paused in his walking. "Hey, do you know where they sell garlic?"

I stopped walking, looking back at him incredulously. "Garlic?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. He smiled nervously. "You're not serious?" His nervous smile didn't disappear. "You are! You actually think that he was a vampire?"

"I just want to be sure…" Lavi muttered, looking away from me. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Lavi, he just looked like a vampire!" I laughed, doubling over. Tears started to come to my eyes, and I was beginning to have difficulty breathing. "And you call me an idiot!"

"It's not funny," Lavi muttered. I broke off my laughter, wiping away the tears, and stood up straight. Lavi's cheeks were red and he was biting his lip, and the look he gave me was like a defeated child getting a pat on the hand.

"Yes it is. Who would have thought the almighty Lavi would have such a silly weakness! Now I know what to be for Halloween." I grinned, and Lavi shivered. However, a small smile also broke out on his face.

"Yeah, it is silly, huh?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. He was wearing his crazy green headband again, and the orange scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck. A nice looking V-neck shirt was just visible beyond his black denim jacket, and he wore normal, casual dark blue jeans today, the usual green converse adorning his feet. Even in casual wear, he looked different from others (although the scarf and headband may have been the real reason).

"Oh yeah. Don't you live the other way from here?" I asked, looking around. "I've never seen you walking this way before."

"I usually get a ride to school." He said with a shrug, dropping his hand. "Don't you remember seeing me at the video store? We live in the same area of town."

"That's right…" I thought back to two weeks ago, on the weekend where Lavi had first come into my life, and the weekend where I hadn't been able to get rid of him either. "Strange."

"Not really. Come on, school starts in ten minutes and we've still got to go a little ways." He said cheerily, beginning to walk already. I hurried after him, keeping pace and watching his face. He seemed different somehow, almost more relaxed. Something had changed last night, and it seemed like it was going to be irreversible now. Admittedly, I too was acting different around Lavi. So far, I hadn't really bothered with trying to be happy or trying to figure him out, everything had just been natural.

"Lavi…" I muttered, looking over at him. He glanced at me from the corner of his one eye, looking like his usual bored, lazy self. "Thanks for last night."

"Oh, you mean the kiss?" he asked, a grin playing on his face. "You're welcome." My fists clenched and my eyebrow twitched.

"You know what, I take it all back," I hissed, stomping ahead. "There's nothing natural…you infuriate me…demon…witch…foul…"

"What'd I do?" Lavi called after me, but I ignored him, fuming. There was a laugh, and I knew he was amused by my actions, which only infuriated me more. I stared at the ground, kicking rocks as I went by, not really paying attention to where I was going, when Lavi's laughter suddenly cut off. Curious, I began to look back, but was interrupted when I bumped into something.

"Ouch…" I muttered, stumbling back. I looked in front of me, and suddenly had difficulty breathing. My eyes trailed up, right into the face of the largest teen I had ever seen. Black narrow eyes stared into mine, and he had crazy spiky black hair that covered the whole top of his head except for his too-high forehead. Muscles stuck out even in his neck, alarming me.

"Un," the thing grunted, glaring down at me. I swallowed, backing up slowly.

"Skin." Lavi's voice said from beside me, and I looked over. He was staring up at the beast with an extremely calm expression, even a little scary, and I wondered how he was able to look something so huge so fearlessly in the face.

"Bookman." It said, the voice so deep it actually felt like a bass.

"Doing well, I hope?" Lavi said in a conversational tone, his arm almost touching mine he was so close to me. The thing just grunted again, walking off. I sighed in relief, but Lavi continued to watch it leaving. "Allen, watch where you're walking, will you? I would like to keep you in one piece." I nodded mutely, not bothering to start an argument this time. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to stand even a minute in a fight with that guy.

"Who was he?" I asked, now also watching the bulky form walking away.

"Skin Bolic. He's another Noah, by the way. I think they let him cheat on the test, because he's apparently twelfth in the school, but that's a bunch of crap." Lavi sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "There's been some trouble with him recently. He's been taking to hiding in dark alleys and attacking innocent people."

"What?" I asked, surprised. There was such a person in this town?

"Every town has its bad seeds, Allen. Anyways, it's best to just forget about it for now. Come on, Lenalee is probably waiting." Lavi waved me on, ushering me towards the school. I looked in the direction Skin had disappeared in, having just turned a corner, and nodded, allowing the redhead to drag me off.

Lenalee met me in the halls, Lavi already off to attempt to find a teacher (I had a feeling he was actually looking for Kanda), but we had to separate when the bell rang anyways. I had Art first block, which meant Lenalee was doing whatever class she had now. When I entered the room, I was expecting the usual substitute who had been there for the past two weeks, but was surprised when I found Miss Morgan standing there, looking through some files sitting on the desk. She looked up when I entered, and I vaguely noticed that I was the only one here so far.

"Allen, nice to see you again!" She said with a smile, closing the files and coming towards me. I smiled kindly, having forgotten that she was still recovering from her sudden stroke. "How have things been? You look a lot happier than the last time I saw you." The comment caught me a little off guard, and I had a feeling that she meant more than was led on.

"Well, it's not easy being happy in a hospital." I said with a small laugh, and she laughed with me. "You're all better?"

"Oh, yes. I should have been here last week, but my mom shipped me off to Vancouver and I was stuck there until now." She said, giving a shrug as if saying 'what can you do?'

"Really? Was it nice, to get away?"

"A little, yes. Small towns can be sort of a drag after a while, so it was nice to see some city lights for once. How has the substitute been?" She folded her hands and watched me politely.

"Well, I guess class has been sort of boring. She never gave us very many assignments, saying that she wasn't sure how you wanted us to do any of it and so it wasn't her place to teach it. Instead she taught us a couple of things that weren't in the curriculum, and basically let us do whatever we wanted. The deal was to make at least five sketches, or two rough paintings, or one previous unfinished assignment handed in by the end of every class." I explained shortly, and Miss Morgan nodded during my explanation.

"I see. Well, it sounds like we're all a little behind. I guess we'll be starting a new project today." She said with a smile, but our conversation didn't go any further than that as four more students came rushing in. "All right, get to your seat then. The bell rings in a couple of minutes." I obliged, going and sitting down. It was odd, having Miss Morgan back. I had been so absorbed in everything that had been going on, that I had honestly forgotten her.

During lunch, Lenalee dragged me off to the back of the school, refusing to explain anything to me. "Come on, you'll see. Lavi wants us there now." She said, pulling me by my wrist.

"How do you even know that? You haven't seen him since at least before English," I wined, trying to pull my hand away. Her grip was tighter than I thought, and no matter how much I tried I couldn't pull away.

"Allen, are you really that dense? There are ways of communicating other than face to face, you know." She rolled her eyes, and a familiar tune to a popular new song echoed in my ears. It was almost as if the phone had rung to prove her point, and she pulled it out and opened it. Instead of talking into it like I thought she would, she just stared at the screen and pressed buttons while we walked. I realized she was texting, and finally understood how they all communicated all the time. Maybe I should get a cell phone.

"There you are!" I looked up, finding Fou standing not far off, leaning against the wall. She was just closing another cell phone, looking a little annoyed. "Kanda's nowhere to be found, and Daisya and Noise are still looking everywhere for him. Lavi said he had one place where he'd go check out which is why he's not here yet, but otherwise you should have been here five minutes ago!"

"Sorry," Lenalee muttered as we came to a halt. Fou just rolled her eyes, glaring straight at me as if it was all my fault.

"I'm guessing he doesn't know why we're here?" She asked, still glaring at me. Lenalee just shook her head no. "I guess I'll explain then. Lavi decided to be an idiot and signed us all up for helping the new teachers get settled. Said something about them being amazing and he needed a closer look at their experiments and the insides of their trunks or something."

"That idiot…" I muttered, smacking my head. He had volunteered us to help Miranda and Alistair, the two insane adults we had met this morning, because he wanted to see if they had any bodies hidden anywhere? He really was stupid sometimes.

"And now he's ignoring me." Fou snapped, snapping her phone shut at the same time. "I've tried texting him around five times now, and he still won't answer!"

"I'll go look for him," I volunteered, raising my hand. Honestly, I was hoping that the search would take so long that I would miss out on helping. I'd prefer seeing the two adults as little as possible, in case they started crying again. Fou just nodded in approval, and I quickly walked off, heading towards the cafeteria first.

Unfortunately, I found Lavi as soon as I left the cafeteria unsuccessfully and headed into the halls. A long line of boys were lined up at the bathroom door, one banging heavily on the door and demanding entrance. I walked up to the boy, and he paused in his hammering. "What are you looking at?"

"What's going on?" I asked, ignoring the rude comment. The guy just shrugged, banging on the door again before answering.

"Some redhead freak locked himself up in there and won't open the goddamn door!" he snapped, obviously making his voice loud enough for Lavi to hear as well. I knew it was Lavi, because I hadn't seen any other redheaded people at this school who were boys, and for some reason the only person I could think of who could be both redheaded and a freak was Lavi. Besides, who else would lock themselves in a public bathroom?

"Uh…let me handle this. In the mean time, why don't you all go and use a different washroom?" I asked, trying to smile at the angry boy. He just grunted, giving the door one more good bang, before walking off.

"Whatever. If you think you can do it, let's see you try…" he muttered, and all of the boys who had been behind him followed after until the hall was completely empty. As soon as they were gone, I knocked softly on the door.

"Lavi?" a long pause followed. "Lavi…I know you're in there."

"No you don't," the muffled reply came, and I sighed, resting my forehead against the door.

"Why're you in there? Fou's getting angry." I said, and something moved behind the door. However, he didn't reply otherwise, seeming to want to keep his mouth shut for once. "What's with you? You were perfectly fine this morning, and it's not something I'd expect from you to sulk in a bathroom when you're upset about something."

"I'm not sulking," Lavi replied indignantly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, right, and that's why you locked the door to an entire boy's bathroom and at least ten people have had to go search for another one." I said, still leaning against the door. Lavi said nothing, but I could tell he was doing something in there. Feeling a little odd, I cleared my throat and started to speak again. "Lavi…it's alright. If you're upset, I mean. You don't have to tell me what's going on or anything, but I am here if you need me to listen-"

"Really? I'd take you up on that if there was actually something wrong." The door suddenly swung open, and I toppled over onto the floor. Groaning, I sat up and was about to start yelling at the devious redhead when I saw what he had around his neck. A string of garlic hung there, as well as a silver cross, and a wooden stake jutted out of his black denim jacket.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled, pulling myself to my feet. "You can't actually be serious…they're not actually vampires!"

"You can never be too careful," Lavi retorted, though looking a little guilty.

"What do you plan on doing, making them so scared and offended by us they'll quit on their first day? And where the hell did you get a string of garlic?" I asked, incredulous. Lavi was truly an unbelievable character.

"The cafeteria. For some reason they had wooden stakes, too." Lavi beamed, as if proud of himself. He winced when I cupped him on the back of his head.

"I can't believe you! Take it off, now!" I snapped, crossing my arms. He pouted, looking like a five year old, but slowly pulled the garlic and cross off, pulling the stake out of his pocket. I held out my hand, and he placed them carefully on it. "Thank you, now go and see Fou and Lenalee." I felt like I was actually talking to a five year old, and was surprised when he obediently turned and started walking towards the door.

"Fun sucker…" he muttered as he walked away, but I ignored him. I stepped into the washroom, dumping the items Lavi had given me into the garbage, before going over to the sink and taking off both of my gloves. I needed to cool down. Absentmindedly, I washed my face with cool water, ignoring the scratchy feeling my left hand gave from its rough texture. I looked at the blackened skin, frowning.

I still hadn't shown it to anyone, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to explain it if someone suddenly found out about it. I didn't want to see them back away from me in disgust, either. The thought of it used to just be inconvenient and a little unpleasant, but now it was actually painful to think of my new found friends to be disgusted by me. I wasn't sure I would be able to cope.

"Oh, hey, Allen!" the door swung open and Lavi stepped inside, and I quickly shoved my hands behind my back, throwing on a fake smile. He looked like he was about to say something, but when he saw my face he stopped. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing!" I said hurriedly, and mentally slapped myself.

"You sneaky little bastard! You're hiding the garlic, aren't you? You were planning on using it for yourself!" He declared, pointing at me accusingly. I had the urge to roll my eyes at him, but I knew that right now I needed to do anything I could to make sure he didn't say the words 'prove it'. I couldn't let him see my secret.

"No, that's not it. What did you want, though?" I asked, knowing that it was a stupid way to get his attention away from the situation. It still worked; he smiled and hopped slightly.

"Just so you know, Yuu was in here, too. He's hiding in one of the stalls, reading a perv magazine." My eyebrow twitched at this news, and out of the corner of my eye I tried to see feet under the stalls. A loud bang was heard behind me, and I knew that Lavi spoke the truth.

"What the hell did you just say?" Kanda yelled, stomping up behind me, and I cursed in my head. He would see…Kanda would see, and everything would be ruined. My eyes squeezed shut for a moment and I clutched my hands together.

"Well, there was no other way to coax you out of there without getting my face stepped on." Lavi shrugged, looking perfectly casual.

"So why the hell would you say that I'm reading porn? I'm going to kill you!" Kanda stomped forward, advancing on Lavi, and went right past me, not saying anything. I didn't get my hopes up that he didn't see.

"Oh, come now, little Yuu." Lavi said as if coaxing a baby, pulling his face into a playful pout. "It's okay to admit your private pleasures in life, we all have them."

"The hell I am!" Kanda yelled, diving, but Lavi was a step ahead of him. He danced out of the way, disappearing behind the door again, and left Kanda sprawled out on the floor where the redhead had just been standing. There was silence, and I contemplated just slipping out, but I needed to grab my gloves first, and one movement would draw his attention to me.

I started to move, inching towards the counter where my gloves sat innocently, when Kanda sat up again. He didn't look at me, rolling his shoulders and neck, but I could tell he was letting me know that he knew something. He wasn't making death threats or glaring at me or completely avoiding me, just sitting there. I grabbed my gloves, slipping them on quickly. "Er…" I started, but Kanda scoffed.

"Shut up, before I knock all your teeth out," he snapped. My mouth shut immediately, and I stood frozen in my spot, only my hands moving nervously by wringing together. "Your skin…is your whole arm like that?" Kanda asked, after at least a minute of silence. I nodded, but then realized he couldn't see me.

"Yes…" I whispered, stopping my hands so that they stayed clasped tightly together.

"You're hiding it." He said, not questioning it. It was just a fact, something that he probably wanted to confirm, and which I did by remaining silent. With a heavy sigh, the violent, feminine boy stood up. "Keh, stupid bean sprout. Who cares about a shriveled up arm?" He muttered, walking towards the door. Relief flooded through me; he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"Thank you." I whispered, closing my eyes. The door swung open, and I swore I heard another, softer scoff as he walked out. Opening my eyes again, I stared at the door, pondering on the fact that Kanda had actually just been nice to me, as far as Kanda went. I wondered how he didn't cringe in disgust or call me a freak.

Before I could think too much on it I rushed out, running to the spot where I had left Fou and Lenalee. I passed Kanda on the way, but I didn't bother pausing to look at him or otherwise, and ended up reaching the classroom just as Lavi was opening the door for a wavering vampire-looking male that I recognized from this morning.

"Allen! you're here!" Lavi called, waving at me. "I'm amazed you actually survived."

"Yeah, thanks for leaving me alone with him," I said sourly, reaching the small gathering. The teacher disappeared into the classroom, and a heavy thud announced the dropping of the books. A moment later and Miranda came, literally swaying back and forth from the weight of the too-high stack of books. I quickly rushed forward, glad for the distraction from Lavi's curious gaze. Obviously, something was wrong with the way I was acting, or with the way I didn't have a single new bruise from my interaction with Kanda.

"Thank you," Miranda said as I took the books from her. I grunted in response, surprised by how heavy the stack actually was as I slipped into the classroom. I placed the books down on the teacher's desk, where it appeared all the rest of the books had already been stacked. When I went back outside, everyone was standing in a sort of loose, awkward circle.

"So, what're your names? Are you here together?" Lenalee asked kindly, smiling at Miranda. The woman gave a tentative smile in return.

"My name is Miranda Lotto, and please, call me Miranda instead of Ms. Lotto if you so wish." She gave a small bow, as if we were the teachers instead of her. I raised my eyebrows, curious about her peculiar behavior. The kids would walk all over these two.

"Alistair Krory," the man said. "J-just Krory is fine." He gave a bow similar to Miranda's, and Lavi voiced the question that had just popped into my head.

"Are you two siblings, or blood related in any way?" He asked, the farthest away from them than any of us. I resisted another urge to laugh at him. The two adults began to laugh lightly, and suddenly they were holding hands heartily.

"No, no. Miranda is my wife." Krory said, smiling gently. It was the first time he hadn't said something in a scared or sorrowful manner. However, I remained confused. If they were married, then why did they have different last names? I would have asked, but the bell rang, signaling the end of our short Friday lunch.

"See you guys later," Fou said bitterly as she walked away, not looking very happy at all. I didn't blame her. This had been a waste of a lunch, especially since on Friday we only got twenty-five minutes. I trailed along behind Lenalee as she waved goodbye, about to start a conversation, when a hand placed itself on my shoulder and pulled me back. Lenalee gave me a sympathetic smile before slipping into the school through a side door.

"Hey, Allen, can I talk to you for a minute?" Of course it was Lavi. I could see Kanda just turning the corner, looking extremely agitated, and turned quickly to Lavi.

"Can it wait?" I asked. To tell the truth, I didn't quite feel ready to talk to the moody boy again. After all, he had seen the one thing I tried so hard to hide, and it wasn't exactly a light topic of conversation. Lavi peered over my shoulder curiously, and then grinned.

"Were you and Yuu having hot kinky sexy time?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows like the Mad Hatter. What was with the Alice in Wonderland thing these days? I smacked him on the top of his head, brushing off his hand in the process.

"Shove it, Lavi." I snapped, and turned around to start walking. Kanda was already there, though. I looked down awkwardly, not sure what to do. Now I had two awkward situations. I had never been quite so vulgar with Lavi before, after all.

"What…the hell…did you just say, Lavi?" He asked through clenched teeth, his face shadowed by his hair, and I could swear I saw a vein popping in his jaw.

"I was joking!" Lavi cried, raising his hands in defense.

"I'm going to class," I muttered, walking away. I didn't feel like dealing with them right now, and besides, for once I wasn't ahead in the class I was in. It was Math, a class where I always had to do something. The teacher currently had me working on some advanced stuff for today's work, and I had to stick with the class no matter what or else he would give me a huge lecture that would just waste my time.

"Allen, wait! I wanted to talk to you!" I ignored him, blocking his voice from my head as I walked away. I probably seemed pretty cold right now, but I would deal with it when I was in a better mood. My confrontation with Kanda had me a little off at the moment.

It was probably one of the slower days of my life, even though Friday was short. I kept on thinking of how much I just wanted to get out of the school and get away from the two boys, and I think that was the reason everything seemed to take minutes rather than seconds. I was even eager to see Master and have him tell me to do something for him over the weekend so I would have an excuse not to go to the club tomorrow.

However, my hopes were dashed as soon as I walked out of my classroom.

"Allen, it's extremely rude to ignore someone." I rolled my eyes at the redhead, brushing past him easily. "Hey, I just said that was rude, didn't I?!" He cried out, rushing after me. I wondered why he was so desperate to talk to me. I couldn't think of anything, and I didn't feel like pursuing the subject either.

"Lavi, I just want to go home." I said when he was walking right beside me, keeping pace with me. A flash of something entered his eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"I just wanted to tell you about some plans I had," he said. "You know, for tomorrow."

"Oh, so you're not just going to spring it on me like you always do?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I was acting so cold. Maybe I was preparing myself for incase Kanda ended up telling someone.

"Well…no," Lavi said with a grin, playful for a moment before seeing that I was un-amused. "I was actually planning on telling you yesterday, but I got a little distracted."

"Really? Then maybe you shouldn't have dragged me out to a fair." I snapped. Lavi winced, as if actually hurt by my words, before letting out a soft sigh.

"You're right. That was a little rash." He muttered, shrugging. "But you had fun, right?"

"No, not really," I replied bitterly. I was only really referring to the accidental kiss, but I knew that it sounded like I meant the whole thing. I did have fun actually, even though it was sudden and uncalled for. I sighed, long and heavy and completely different from Lavi's previous sigh. "I didn't mean it that way. I did have fun…up to a point."

"Oh…oh!" Lavi clapped his hands together, looking a little sheepish. "Well, I'm pretty sure that was unplanned by both of us." We were leaving the school now, and as we began to step down the stairs, the sky a threatening gray, Lavi asked the question that had most likely been on his mind since he had told me he wanted to talk to me. "Allen, do you think something's changed?"

I knew what he meant, and I knew the answer, but I didn't want to admit it, not yet. I didn't want to admit that Lavi had become something special in my life, a friend that I felt like I needed. In a course of two weeks, Lavi had become something precious, though still so far from my reach, because he really was unreachable. He was something else entirely. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." The playfulness was gone. Amusement was washed away. I was reminded of our time on the Ferris Wheel, and my heart thudded feebly in my chest.

"Hey, Lavi, Allen!" we both looked back at the same time, jumping a little from the sudden distraction. Lenalee was running towards us, Fou in tow and Kanda a little farther off. He was walking next to Daisya, who had his bell hat on again. No one was giving him a second glance.

"Sorry, Lavi, maybe next time," I whispered before raising my hand in greeting. "Hey, Lenalee, Fou!"

"Don't address me so casually, shortie." Fou snapped when they reached us. I just smiled, shrugging it off.

"Alright, the whole gang's here almost!" Lavi chimed beside me, grinning. "We're only missing one person." I ignored the change in attitude; after all, I had just done the exact same thing, hadn't I?

"Marie isn't coming today, he said he had to go to the doctor's to check on his sight again." Daisya said, stopping beside Fou. "The Noahs aren't coming, are they?"

"Not today, but they will be tomorrow." Lavi replied. "Alright, so only Daisya and Kanda know the plan so far. Tomorrow, for the Monthly Club Activity, we're going to be going for a hike. It's always best to go in the Fall, since that way there's not too much of a problem with heat, but make sure you dress warmly."

"Where are we going?" Lenalee asked, looking interested. I was a little surprised that we were going hiking, but what really had me a little stumped was the way they were talking about today, as if we were all about to go and do something.

"Just to the lake. It's got a nice little mountain and everything." Lavi smiled. He looked at peace for a moment, happy. There wasn't the usual cold gaze there. "Anyways, is everyone ready?"

"Ready for what?" I asked, speaking up. Lavi paused, glancing at me and then at Lenalee.

"Every Friday, if we're up to it, we go to the Arcade to play some games. We like to compete with each other, to see who's better at what games. So far, I think we have al the high scores in the place except for with one game." Lenalee explained, smiling gently. "Since you're a member of the club, it's only right to have you come along."

"That's right! So, let's go!" Lavi clapped his hands together and started to walk off, everyone else following him, but I didn't move. I was too busy thinking about how terrible I was at video games and arcade games. I would be humiliated.

"Move it, kid!" someone snapped, shoving past me. That's right, I was standing in the middle of the entrance to the school, wasn't I? I shuffled my feet along down the path, everyone else already gone.

"Allen, hurry up!" I looked up, finding Lenalee waiting for me. She was so kind. I sped up a little, catching up with her and smiling.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm a little…disadvantaged when it comes to games, so I was just wondering if I should just skip out."

"No way, you've gotta come!" Lenalee insisted, grinning. "It doesn't matter if you're terrible, really. I used to be the same way, but now I kick all their asses!" There was something different about her; a side of the girl I had never seen before. I just nodded, allowing her to drag me towards the black jeep that wasn't far off, one that I had ridden in before almost a week and a half ago.

Thinking about that day also reminded me of something Lavi has said. Something that, only a couple of hours ago, had been proven correct.

"He doesn't act very nice around people. When you're alone with him, though, he's actually sort of friendly. He opens up a lot more, that's for sure, and despite how much he tried to ignore me and pretend he hates me, I know he'd hurt anyone who tried to hurt me. He's already done it a few times."

"So, are we all ready for the arcade?" Lavi asked when Lenalee and I slipped into the SUV. I once again marveled at the leather seats and perfect condition the car was in. There was someone driving for us, different from the driver who had been there last week.

"Yeah, let's go," Lenalee said with a smile. I looked at her, examining her. It had been a while since I had actually paid attention to her, but thinking about it now I realized that she had become a lot more casual with me. The first week I had actually started to get to know her, she had been watching Lavi carefully as if looking for something, but now she didn't even bother glancing at him unless he directly addressed her. It was like she had completely relaxed. I remembered the way she had defended him two weeks ago for being such an idiot about a panda.

Then I realized something else. She knew Lavi much better than I did. Everyone in this jeep did. Probably even the driver. And here I was saying he was someone special to me, when I didn't even know anything about him.

My thoughts ended there, though, because we had reached the arcade. "That was quick." I commented.

"Yeah, you were just day dreaming, Allen." Fou commented, throwing her door open more roughly than necessary. Then I noticed the way everyone was laughing, except for her and, of course, Kanda.

"Did I miss something?" I asked as she slipped out. Lenalee shook her head covering her mouth, while Daisya and Lavi began to laugh harder. Kanda rolled his eyes, but his face was a bit softer than usual.

"It's nothing, we were just making fun of Fou." The black haired girl said, slipping out of the car much more elegantly than Fou. I followed after her, looking at the Arcade I had never been to. It was rather small, and I already knew where I was going to spend all my time. There was a small area where they were selling baked goods and hot drinks. I was pretty sure I had five bucks in my wallet. Those goods really did look mouth watering, and it was only through the window.

"Let the fun begin!" Lavi crowed, running into the arcade and followed by Lenalee, Daisya, and a still grumpy Fou. Beside me, Kanda looked a little annoyed, but he didn't seem angry like he always did. That changed when he looked at me.

"What?" he snapped, his facing turning into an ugly scowl. I winced.

"Nothing," I said absently. I began to walk forward, but was surprised when a cold, strong hand fell tightly on my shoulder.

"Hey, bean sprout," Kanda said, his voice strained. "I'm not going to tell anyone, so stop acting distant from Lavi." When he spoke Lavi's name, there was a slight tenderness there. I wasn't the only one who found Lavi precious. Kanda had known Lavi since they were toddlers, hadn't he? So of course Lavi would be someone important. Then, Kanda was back to his old self, dropping his hand and scoffing. "Otherwise he'll be up all night complaining to me."

"Er…right," I said, smiling hesitantly. I was unsure of how to take the way Kanda was acting, but I knew that he was being nice to me, which was odd but a little nice. Maybe we would never be friends, because I definitely couldn't forgive him for kicking me in the stomach (I still had a bruise) and for always calling me a bean sprout, but at least we weren't enemies…completely.

"Hey, no more sappy love gay stuff!" Lavi called, having opened the door. His grin clearly said he was enjoying the sight of us standing next to each other, not arguing, but I wonder what he would look like if he knew that Kanda was only doing this for his sake. I knew that's what Kanda was doing; he was reassuring me so that Lavi could be happy. Those two had a bond that I couldn't comprehend, even though I really didn't see them together all that often, and I knew I would most likely never have the same bond with Lavi.

"Shut it," Kanda snapped, his voice so much colder than it had been a moment ago that it sent a shiver down my spine. He shoved past Lavi roughly, entering the arcade and going out of sight, leaving Lavi standing there staring at me.

"Are you coming in?" He asked, frowning at me.

"Yeah…could I borrow twenty bucks?" I asked, glancing at the food area again. Five bucks definitely wouldn't be enough for all the stuff I wanted.

"What for?" Lavi asked. "Games?"

"No. I'm terrible at those." I said, walking into the arcade, only lightly touching Lavi's arm with my own when I passed him. The touch sent a small shiver through me; it was a shiver that I couldn't really understand. It wasn't a shiver of fear, that was definite, so what could it be?

"Then what?" Lavi asked, trailing after me. I just shrugged, heading towards my destination. I think he got it then. "Jeeze, kid. How much can you eat?" I knew he was referring to the fact that twenty bucks could probably buy me at least seven things from there. I was planning on spending it all. "Here, and try and save some for some games later on, okay?"

"I think I'll just watch." I muttered, taking the bill he was handing me. That's right; I could just watch. Watch Lavi, watch Kanda, watch Lenalee, watch Fou. Maybe some day, I could stop watching, and actually be a part of them.

But for now, I needed to stop thinking of my arm, and of the memories that were trying so hard to resurface.

End Chapter

A/N: Yay! I finished! And it's a whole…half page longer than the last chapter. That's actually kind of sad. Anyways, I wanted to mention Kanda. There will not be anything between him and Allen at all throughout the story. If it seemed like it this chapter, it's not happening. Honestly, I just did that so that they could actually start being friends. Besides, Kanda needs some sort of important role in the story for now. So why not make him the secret keeper?

For the sake of the fact that this is an English language set story, Alistair is not Aristar, but I did decide to keep his last name the original version. It's sort of like using Lavi instead of Rabi, although admittedly I do prefer Lavi. It just sounds better. Anyways, Miranda and Krory don't share the same last name because they're not actually married, they just have a common law marriage. They feel too old to say boyfriend and girlfriend, so just prefer to call each other husband and wife, since they can't say things like fiancé. Krory still hasn't taken the initiative to stop acting like a chicken and propose.

I tried to bring the chapter out a little bit longer, but it didn't really work. Next chapter should be an easy one to make longer, but it's basically just going to be Saturday, with everyone hiking. I'll add in a couple nice scenarios and then maybe it could even become two chapters. Either that or one extra long chapter. You decide. Review, pretty please! ((Oh, and ideas for Halloween costumes would be nice. I'm planning ahead, but I'm stuck on costume ideas.))


	9. Take A Hike

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man or any songs mentioned

Chapter 9: Take A Hike

He had found a book underneath Mana's bed while vacuuming, and even though he knew that he wasn't supposed to be sneaking around he had opened the book and began looking through it. Some of the things he saw there were terrible, hideous. It was enough to forever scar his young mind, and he knew that if Mana found out about him looking through this he would most likely get angry.

_Mana didn't often get angry with Allen, but when he did it was scary. Allen preferred staying on his good side. So it didn't help his case very much when the door creaked open, and he quickly shoved the book back under the bed, probably on the complete opposite side of where it had previously been, too. "Allen, what are you doing?"_

"_Just cleaning," the boy said quickly, standing up and plastering a smile on his face. A sick feeling squirmed in his stomach as he remembered the pictures he had just seen. He wanted to ask what they were, he wanted answers, but some deep gut feeling was saying to stay far, far away from the subject._

"_Alright, but you can leave my room to me. Don't let Cross boss you around. He's my partner with work, not an authority figure towards you." Mana looked a little terse before smiling. "Anyways, off you go." Allen didn't hesitate to unplug the vacuum and hurry off._

I still couldn't believe I was going through with this.

"So, you just decided to go on a hike?" I cringed at Master's voice. He had been hovering over me all morning, since I had gotten out of the shower. I don't know why he decided to wake up early today, but it was definitely not to my advantage. Sometimes, Master could be the most curious person I knew, and he had a way of making curiosity a cruelty.

"I told you already, I'm going with people." I snapped, but regretted it. He flicked the back of my head, which was gentler than usual, but maybe he just wanted me conscious to tell him what was going on. I still hadn't told him anything about the club, either. The only thing he knew about it was, well, nothing, just that there was a club that existed that I wanted to get into.

"Don't give me that. And just tell me where the hell you're going already." He snapped, and I sighed.

"I told you already." I repeated calmly. "I have no idea, I'm just tagging along." I didn't mention that I was sort of required to do this, or that I was technically being forced to do this. I finished tying my boots, standing up from the floor and checking the clock on the wall. Knowing Lavi, someone would probably be here in about five minutes to pick me up, and the number one person I could think of was…well, a very ticked off Fou.

"Yeah, whatever." Master retorted feebly, scoffing and walking into the living room. I would have to make sure to wait outside, so he wouldn't see Fou, or else I would never hear the end of it. Of course, what exactly I wouldn't be hearing the end of I wasn't so sure. Was Fou even Master's type?

I grabbed my bag, which held everything I thought I needed, and opened the door, ready to wait outside, only to be smacked in the face. "Oops! Oh, sorry Allen." I clutched my nose, looking up to find an innocently smiling Lavi, his fist raised as if ready to knock.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, my voice muffled by my hand. I let go of my still stinging nose, and glared at the redhead.

"I came to get you," He replied. "I am sorry for hitting you in the face, you know. I was trying to knock on the door, but you opened it right when I was going to."

"Yeah, I'm sure. You were probably trying to eavesdrop, weren't you?" His guilty expression said it all. I sighed. "Which means you knew I was going to be opening the door. So stop acting innocent and admit the fact that you enjoyed hitting me in the face. I can see it in the way you're smiling a little too happily."

"Alright, you caught me. It doesn't seem like I can hide anything from you anymore." Even though his expression was relaxed, and his tone was light, his words sent a thrill through me. I didn't let it get to my head, instead shoving past him, trying to act like his words had no effect on me. It was silly that there had actually been an effect in the first place.

"Who else are you picking up?" I asked over my shoulder as I headed towards the black SUV. There was no driver this time.

"No one." My steps faltered, but I quickly regained my pace. "I convinced Kanda to take Lenalee, since they're right next to each other, and Fou is picking up Daisya. Noise has his own methods of getting places, and it's not like any of us are about to go and pick up one of the Noahs. So, it's just you and me."

The idea of us being alone without anyone else there to disturb us made me oddly happy, but I threw the feeling away and instead replaced it with thoughts about the Noahs. To be honest, I had sort of forgotten about them the past few days. Since Road had talked to me that day, it seemed like they were rarely mentioned, and the only other contact I had had with the family since was when I had run into Skin Bolic. I had been more centered around Lavi and the things he seemed to drag me into lately.

"Allen, stop spacing out and get into the car already." I jumped, looking up to find that I had reached the SUV, and I quickly walked around and entered the passenger side. Lavi was already buckled in by the time I had closed the door, and the engine was purring to life in an instant.

"When did you get your license?" I asked, trying to make small talk. It was odd trying to do something like that with Lavi. I wasn't sure why it felt so awkward right now.

"A few months ago," he said dismissively. He pulled away from the curb smoothly, and drove at a much better pace than Kanda or Fou. Silence followed, broken only by the random sounds made outside and the sound of the tires against the road. I felt like I should be asking him questions right now, using this time to my advantage, but I didn't seem to have it in me. He would counterattack; Lavi always counterattacked.

"So what exactly are we doing today?" I asked, when the silence was beginning to press down on me.

"Hiking, maybe having a picnic. I have a nice little game for everyone, too." He smiled, but for some reason there was something wrong about it. What was wrong with him today? "What kind of music do you like?"

"Anything that isn't country or rap." I replied calmly, looking out the window. Lavi pushed a button on the car stereo, and music began playing rather loudly. I jumped, looking at Lavi, who began to bob his head to the music, even though it wasn't exactly a happy sounding song. I vaguely recognized the song from somewhere, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Why is it so loud?"

"What?" Lavi called over the music, looking at me briefly before returning his attention to the road. I sighed.

"I said, why is it so loud?" I repeated, louder this time.

"Because this kind of music is better to listen to loudly!" He called. I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat and trying to name the song. When I still couldn't remember it and the song was about two minutes in, I gave in and asked Lavi. "Fake It, by Seether." He replied. He began to sing with the song. "Who knows if your soul will fade at all…the one you sold to fool the world…"

"Lavi?" I asked cautiously, surprised by how well he was able to sing with the song. That wasn't what made me call his name, though. His eyes took on a strange, glazed over look. "Are you okay?"

He glanced at me again, his eyes clearing. I sighed in relief. "Yeah, fine. Why?" He asked, smirking. "Are you concerned about me, Allen?" I tried not to blush, glaring at him.

"No, I just don't want you swerving off the road and killing the both of us." I muttered, turning away from him to instead glare out the window.

"Agh," he groaned, releasing one hand off the wheel to run it over his face. "You're so mean, Allen! Why don't you tell me the truth instead of being all mysterious?"

"How am I being mysterious when I'm clearly insulting you?" I retorted, turning to face him again. He still had one hand off the wheel. "And will you please drive with both hands!"

"Why? I can drive with no hands and it'll still be fine!" He snapped. "You know you're not telling the truth, so tell me already!" The SUV came to a sudden halt, and Lavi yanked the keys out of the ignition after putting the vehicle in park. The music died, leaving everything completely silent, and all I could do was stare at Lavi in shock. "I'm tired, Allen…" He whispered, slumping forward. His forehead hit the wheel. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Wh-what're you talking about?" I asked, shrinking closer to the door. "What do you mean, you don't know what to do?"

"Everything…it's so confusing…" he muttered huskily, barely understandable. "You avoid all of my questions, or right when I could possibly get an answer someone interrupts. You don't tell me the truth, you go around it. Do you understand how frustrating it is?"

"You…" I said softly, sighing. "Aren't really one to talk." He sat up, looking at me in surprise. "You do the same thing, you know. Maybe not like I do, but you do avoid my questions. Usually, you answer them in a joking manner, not telling me the truth but just being sarcastic or telling me what a normal person would want to hear. It's plenty excruciating. However, just like you have your reasons, I have my reasons. Therefore, we have now come to a standstill. We both want to know more about the other, but we both do not want to reveal our own secrets."

"Allen…" Lavi smiled, the same smile he wore every day when he was around everyone. "You sounded pretty serious there."

"See what I mean?" I muttered, turning back to my window and trying not to hit him. The engine purred to life again, and the music went back on. The song was different now, by a completely different band. This one I didn't know at all, and I didn't bother asking. Lavi turned down the music, but I wasn't sure why. "You said you were tired… does that mean you could end up falling asleep at the wheel at any time?"

"You're _still_ worried about my driving skills, Allen?" Lavi wined, pouting. "That sort of feels like an insult."

"Good." I said shortly, and Lavi gave a devastated look when I looked at him.

"You're not very nice." He muttered, looking back at the road. I rolled my eyes. We were back in routine. I was pretty sure we weren't going to be having another moment like that for the rest of the day, and maybe that was why it had happened. After all, it was better for this to happen now than in front of everyone else, and it seemed like every time the two of us were together we would have a conversation like this, a brief moment where neither of us are putting up our mask.

"When will we get there?" I asked. We had been driving for a while now, but I honestly didn't know where there were any hiking trails or anything like that.

"It's coming up soon, but for now why don't you just enjoy the scenery?" He suggested, tapping his fingers on the wheel to the song. I did as he suggested, watching the trees go by. I had never noticed how green this place was. There were evergreens everywhere, with not too many other trees. The trees that weren't evergreens were either completely bare or had a few brown leaves still clinging to them.

I continued to examine the wildlife until Lavi pulled onto a long, bumpy road. Straight ahead, a familiar shiny motorcycle and sports car were parked, as well as a few cars that were unfamiliar. Lavi threw on a teasing smile, and I put on my innocent, vacant smile. "Well, we're here. Just remember; no running into a bush with one of the girls until we leave."

"Lavi!" I gasped, my eyes going wide as a bright blush spread across my cheeks. He laughed heartily, pulling up beside Kanda's car and once again putting it in park. This time, he was more gentle with taking the keys out of the ignition.

"Joking, joking" he waved his hand dismissively before getting out of the car, not bothering to wait for me before beginning down one of the many trails that were there. I rushed after him, looking back at the SUV when I caught up to him.

"Is it okay to leave it unlocked like that?" I asked.

"Sure, it's not like anyone else will be here today. This place is pretty quiet." He said, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "I like coming here a lot, when I feel like thinking. There's no one here to disturb me, or try and change my mind. I can think without anyone else's influence." I didn't say anything, thinking it better to not. "Ah, we're here!"

"Huh?" I looked ahead of me, surprised to find a large clearing with still-green grass. Even though it was Autumn, today seemed to be pretty clear, which I had only just noticed. In the center of the clearing was a single picnic table, and I could tell there was a silent battle about who dominated it. Three people from each group sat on either side, while the stray ones from each just stood by their own side. Most of them were glaring at each other, except for Lenalee and the only person I had yet to meet on our side.

"Allen! Lavi!" Lenalee waved at us as soon as she saw us, grinning in obvious relief. She was one of the people not sitting, so she ran to us right away.

"Keh, about time." Kanda snapped, the only other not sitting on our side. He had his arms crossed in a cold stance, glaring at Lavi. The side I wasn't familiar with were now all standing, forming a loose line and staring at Lavi and I.

"Are we going for the hike now?" Tykki spoke, at the end of the line closest to the table. Directly beside him was Road. At the other end of the line was Skin Bolic.

"Yeah, but we have to be back here by two. We're having lunch, and then we're going to play a game. Winner gets something special." Lavi explained, but he wasn't smiling like he had been earlier. His eyes were colder than before, too.

"What kind of game?" Lenalee asked, giving Lavi a curious look.

"You'll see when the time comes," he replied, giving her a teasing smile and patting her on the head. Her face went red and she turned, stomping off muttering about being treated like a kid. "Everyone ready?" Lavi called, but he was mostly looking at our side. Every one nodded, and suddenly the clearing was filled with movement. Everyone was getting their things together, putting on back packs or taking out hats and water bottles.

My own back pack was rather light, since I hadn't really thought I would need too much, but seeing how full their bags were I was beginning to doubt my packing knowledge for hiking. I walked forward, about to join Lenalee and Fou, who were conversing (though Fou seemed to be arguing) about bottled water, but I was cut off by two bodies.

"Ah, aren't you a cutie?" I looked into the face of a blond, long haired boy with wide brown eyes, that weren't innocent but weren't as sinister as Road or Tykki's. He looked sort of like a hippie, with a red string tied over his hair and around his forehead. He had a brown vest on with fur around the collar and inside the attached hood, and a pair of leather jeans. Hiking boots were on his feet, worn out from use.

"E-excuse me?" I stuttered, my cheeks burning as I stared at him in shock. The boy beside him grinned slyly, shrugging an arm over the blonde.

"Don't mind my brother," he said, his brown eyes flashing. "He's a little forward." He looked different from the other one, with black hair that framed his rather pretty looking face, wearing a jacket that was black and had the same fur as the blonde's around the collar and inside the hood. His jacket was open, showing a white men's tank top, and he wore the same leather pants and boots as the blonde.

I was pretty sure the most noticeable thing about both of them, though, was their makeup.

"Er…" Why was it that a Noah was always able to make me speechless? I felt nervous, even though they wore such drastic makeup. The blonde one looked almost like he had black eyes, if it weren't for the three lines on the corner of each eye. The other was just as drastic, maybe a little thicker, with a long line like a scar going down his left eye. The blonde also looked like he had sewn his mouth together, except that his mouth had no string blocking it, so it was either a tattoo or more makeup.

"Jasdero, David, don't start playing around all ready." Tykki was by their side so suddenly, I almost jumped.

"I couldn't agree more." This time, I did jump. Lavi was next to me, glaring at the black haired boy. Odd, he seemed to be completely ignoring the blonde.

"Of course, the hero in shining armor appears as soon as his new pet is in trouble." Tykki said calmly, staring blankly at Lavi. I didn't want to be a part of this argument, although the pet comment kind of irked me. I wasn't exactly some item to be claimed.

"You should watch your mouth, Mikk, before I stick my lance right through your non-existent heart." Lavi said quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Or rather, before my _pet_ decides to stop playing innocent and dumb." I glared, clenching my fists, and turned on Lavi.

"Watch who you're calling dumb!" I snapped, glaring up at him. I didn't feel as intimidating as I should, considering he was so much taller than me.

"Come now, Allen, you know I didn't mean it." Lavi grinned innocently, and I pouted.

"Now look who's playing dumb." I muttered, turning away from him. "You shouldn't be such a hypocrite, you know."

"I'm not being a hypocrite…" There was a long pause, in which not only me but Tykki and the two boys gave him a pointed look. "Oh."

"Maybe you should pay more attention to what you say and do," I suggested. "Especially before blaming someone else, namely me, of the same thing. It just makes you look bad."

"Look at that, Lavi. Even your supposed friends are turning on you now." Tykki smirked, looking like he was really enjoying himself. _No…that's not true…_

"That's not how it works." Lavi said, before I could. I looked at him in surprise. "Friends are supposed to have these arguments. We tell each other our bad points and make fun of each other for them. You, on the other hand, only have bad intentions."

"What he said." I jumped again, looking over to find Fou. She was wearing her black toque today, with a baggy black sports jacket and baggy sweat pants, a pair of worn out hiking boots adorning her feet. "Come on, we're getting impatient." She said, and walked off. I blinked, confused by what had just happened, and was even more confused when the two boys and Tykki walked off without saying a thing, and Lavi headed to where Fou, Lenalee, Kanda, Daisya, and the unknown boy were. I quickly followed after him, not wanting to be alone in the clearing.

"Alright. We don't necessarily have to stay in a group, we're not in elementary anymore, so take whatever path you like and be back in…" Lavi checked a wrist watch I had never noticed before, and counted with his fingers. "Five hours. It's nine now. So, you should have plenty of time to run around and do whatever. So, if you want to go with someone ask." His eyes fell on me, and his mouth opened, but someone beat him to it.

"Allen, you wanna go with me?" I was, to say the least, shocked. Fou just stared at me, her face completely serious. Everyone stared at her, and obviously I was not the only one surprised. When I glanced at Lavi, he seemed suddenly guarded, and the only one not staring at Fou in shock. "Well? Give me an answer instead of just gaping."

"Uh…sure…" I mumbled, my cheeks burning a little.

"Yuu…" Lavi whispered, shoving past me and going to stand in front of Kanda. When he spoke again, his voice was back to normal. "Wanna join me in my adventure? We can bring Lenalee along, of course!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kanda snapped. Lenalee just waved it off, smiling.

"Come on, let's go! Daisya, Marie's in your care!" She called, dragging Kanda and Lavi towards a path. I looked at the unknown boy, with black skin and his eyes shut, a small black ponytail the only thing on his head but bald otherwise, and wearing a long black cloak. In seconds, everyone was splitting up, and Fou grabbed me by the wrist to drag me off. I hadn't even been given time to process anything that had just happened.

"So, what path do you want to go along?" She mumbled, although it was doubtful she would listen to me. Maybe it was just my imagination, but her cheeks looked a little flushed. Before I had a chance to even suggest a path, Fou dragged me down a rather worn, but not very used looking one, letting go of my wrist once we had entered it.

We just walked for a while, not really saying anything or making any acknowledgement in either's existence, but the flush that I had thought was my imagination wasn't going away. So I decided to occupy myself by searching for any wildlife besides trees and moss, trying to get Fou's behavior out of my thoughts.

The silence was beginning to get to me after about ten minutes, though. I was beginning to take it for granted, enjoying the walk and allowing myself time to think, although it seemed all I wanted to think about was my car ride with Lavi. I was a little perplexed about the look that had been on his face when he had been singing. There had been something else there completely… The snap of a twig and the sound of someone falling interrupted my thoughts.

"Ah, Fou!" I hurried forward, crouching down to see if she was okay. She was sitting on the ground, wincing and rubbing her backside. "Are you alright?"

"Don't go thinking this is something special or anything, I just don't want to be around any of the others right now and its not like I want to be alone on this trip, and you're the only one-" I put a hand over her mouth, my heart racing. She looked at me and shock, and I quickly pulled my hand away, cursing myself.

"Sorry, I don't know why I did that." _Yes I do…_ "Why don't you answer my question, though, instead of giving me a speech? I don't think like that, Fou, so I wasn't getting the wrong idea when you asked for me to come along with you." For some reason, it was different with Fou than it was with Lenalee. She was acting weird, and being alone with her seemed so much different.

"I'm fine," Fou snapped, pushing herself up and not looking at me, but her cheeks were redder than before. Her behavior was beginning to confuse me. Lately, my time with Fou had been limited. We hadn't talked since Thursday, besides her brief insults yesterday whenever I saw her, and it had been rare for Lenalee not to be around before that. I wasn't sure when this had started.

"Shall we go, then?" I whispered, walking forward. An odd thought began to occur to me.

How should I react, if a girl were to confess to me? I had never really thought about it before, since the idea seemed impossible to me, but now that I was seeing Fou like this I was beginning to wonder what exactly I should do if it were to ever happen. Things like this depended on so many different aspects, like if I even liked the girl or if I wanted a relationship, but at the same time I wasn't sure how I would be able to say no if either of those things didn't apply in the first place. Would I be able to say no?

Girls were a complete mystery to me. I had no idea what went on inside their heads or how their emotions ran, since I had never really bothered with human beings in the first place, and where I stood at the current moment was probably worse than Lavi, which sort of irked me. Even though Master often said I was rather feminine in the way my mind worked, I doubted he actually knew what went on inside a girl's head. _Why do girls have to be so frustrating?_

Also, why had I only just started thinking about this? I was a guy, wasn't I? Yet, even before everything had happened, I had never really noticed girls. I suppose the closest I had ever really gotten to a crush were standing behind me and with Lavi and Kanda. Fou and Lenalee were the only two girls I had ever really had contact with and actually gotten to know, and had ever really noticed more than just their presence. It was pathetic, but it was true. Even Lo Fwa hadn't really been noticed as 'hey, she's a female'. I just noticed her, and that was it.

I sighed out loud. "I guess the only real way to know what to do is to just do whatever comes to mind when it happens." I muttered, running a hand over my face. I was surprised by how frustrated I was with this. It had even driven out thoughts of earlier this morning, and had taken over my whole train of thought. Girls really were a complicated subject.

"What are you talking about to yourself?" Fou snapped from behind me, and I looked back. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed we were now on a rather steep hill, both sides of the trail cutting off to more steep hills, and being the idiot that I was I slipped as soon as I turned. "H-hey! Watch out!"

Fou reached for me, but I was already falling over. She grabbed my hand as my arms reached outward of their own accord, but as soon as she did that I could tell there was no chance of her being able to pull me back up. I tried to shake her hand off, but it was too late, and instead we ended up both falling.

For some reason, my head was completely clear, and I was able to think calmly and collectively. I grabbed Fou and encased her in my arms as we began to fall, trying to protect her as much as possible from the stray things on the ground. I wasn't sure how long we rolled down the hill, hitting various logs and fallen branches as we went, but we didn't stop until we hit the bottom. Grunting in pain and closing my eyes, I let Fou go.

"Are you…okay?" I mumbled, trying to sit up, but a hand stopped me. I opened my eyes, finding Fou hovering above me and staring at me in shock. I could taste blood in my mouth, and I was pretty sure I had quite a few cuts and bruises all over my body, but I was glad to see that she looked relatively unharmed. Her toque had fallen off at some point, and a few twigs and stray leaves were sticking out of her hair, dirt all over her face, making her look comical. I chuckled.

"Why're you laughing, idiot!" she yelled, hitting me on the chest. "You could've died!"

"No, not really," I grunted, this time pushing against her hand to sit up. I rubbed the spot she had hit. "The path we took didn't have any trees, and it wasn't steep enough. I'd say we're pretty lucky, considering."

"You idiot…you should look where you're walking next time." She mumbled, turning away from me.

"But you spoke to me, so I was just trying to be polite and look at you when I talked to you. Don't you know it's rude-"

"Stop it!" She cried, turning to look at me again. I stared in shock, seeing this Fou for the first time. Tears were in her eyes, and her lips were trembling. I had never thought I would see a face like this on Fou. Her tough girl act had crumbled away slowly, and I already knew it had started long before this. How long had I been so ignorant? "I was so worried…"

"Why?" I asked, my voice strained. "It's not like I went unconscious or anything."

"When we were going down the hill, idiot!" She snapped, a futile attempt to pick herself up again. It didn't work. Instead, she started crying. "I'm not some fragile…weakling…" I didn't know what to do at all. I began to reach for her, but I hesitated. Would she get the wrong idea? _Idiot, don't think about that now!_ "Hey, Allen…what do you think of me?"

Was now really the time to ask that? She was crying, and I was bleeding in various places, yet she wanted to ask a question like that? _Girls really are a mystery_. "Well, I guess you're pretty cool. I mean, you did stick with me for the past couple of weeks and all." I smiled nervously, cursing my luck. Why did she have to get all emotional now? I had no experience with this at all, for Christ's sake!

"Stupid bean sprout…" Fou muttered, wiping at her eyes. I was about to sigh in relief, hoping that she would go back to normal, but nothing seemed to be going my way today. Fou shifted on her knees, throwing her arms around me before I could do or say anything, and our lips connected.

Since I had only really been kissed once before this, and that just so happened to be the incident with Lavi, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel. I don't think I was supposed to feel uncomfortable, though. Her lips were soft against mine, and rather warm, but all I could taste was blood, and I was so nervous that I was actually beginning to sweat now. Also, it just didn't seem _right_.

When she pulled away, I was unable to say anything. I just stared blankly at her, and the longer I stared the more pronounce her frown became. Soon, she was looking away, the blush that had been there gone, replaced by bitterness. When I finally got my speech back, I was only able to whisper. I started to stand, avoiding looking at her. "Maybe…we should go and find the others."

"Right." Fou whispered, standing up as well. I thought I saw another tear rolling down her face, but I ignored it.

We searched for a long time, not a single word being said once. During our search, I found various different tears in my clothes and quite a few spots soaked through with blood, and the longer we walked the more I was able to feel the pain with each step. It was by accident that I ran directly into Kanda coming out of another bush, once again falling over.

"Oi, watch it--what the hell happened to you, bean sprout?" I just grunted, slowly picking myself up and looking over his shoulder. It was rather difficult, since his shoulder was higher than my head, but I was still able to see the top of Lavi's wild red hair. He poked his head around Kanda's frame, looking at me in surprise. Fou slipped out of the bushes behind me, and Lavi's expression turned sly.

"What did I say, Allen?" He said sarcastically, but I just shook my head. I couldn't look any of them directly in the eye. I felt ashamed of myself, because I knew I had hurt Fou. No matter what way I looked at it, I had rejected her.

"We fell down a hill," I whispered. "We couldn't find the trail again, so we got a little lost."

"Are you two okay?" Lenalee asked, appearing on Kanda's other side. She looked worried.

"I'm fine." Fou muttered. "You should take Allen back to the clearing, though. He took most of the damage." When she said my name, maybe I was the only one who noticed it but she sounded like she was straining to say it.

"I'll take you back." I wasn't surprised that Lavi had volunteered. I was glad, though. The whole time we had been searching, the one person I had wanted to see was Lavi. I didn't know what it was anymore, that drew me to him, but it was like there was a part of me that was empty when he wasn't there. I couldn't understand any of it anymore. Especially not after what had just happened.

Lenalee waved us off as Lavi forcefully slung one of my arms over his shoulder and began dragging me off, Kanda already starting to walk and Fou turning her back to us. _No, not us, me_. I knew, I could feel it, that our friendship would never be the same, if it even existed anymore. Even though I knew her feelings, I felt like I had lost a part of myself. I hadn't realized how much I depended on our friendship until now.

"So, what'd you do to Fou?" I jumped, looking up at Lavi in surprise, before sighing. I looked away again, just shaking my head. "She told you?"

"Told me what?" I muttered, thought I was pretty sure I knew what.

"Her feelings towards you." He said absently, his tone not changing at all. He may as well have been discussing the weather with me.

"No." I whispered. "She showed me."

"She kissed you?" Lavi asked. His tone was a little darker now, but it was probably my imagination, since my thoughts became darker the second he said that word.

"Yeah. After we fell. Was pretty weird." I didn't want to make full sentences right now. I was tired, and I felt like a fool. "Idiot girl. Should've just left it alone." Then I sighed. "Never mind. I shouldn't have fallen." Then I shook my head. "No. I should've said no. Y'know, when she asked me." Then I hung my head. "Never mind. I should have just never been born."

"Wow, you're pretty upset over this." Lavi grinned, but it wasn't sarcastic like it usually was. It was understanding. "So, are you going to go out with her?"

"No." I replied, in a ghost of a whisper. I spoke up louder for the next part. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I've already rejected her. I'm pretty sure she noticed, too. Actually…" my head was getting cloudy. I knew this feeling, but it wasn't like knowing was going to stop it. My vision began to blur, going black around the edges. "Sorry, Lavi…but could you…please…"

"Don't even worry about it." He muttered, before my vision went completely black.

I woke up to the sound of arguing voices. My name came up a few times, but other than that I couldn't distinguish a thing. My head was aching as if someone had smashed a rock over it, and I could feel little stings of pain all over my body as I shifted my weight. When I opened my eyes, I found Lenalee smiling down at me.

"Hey, sleepy head!" She chimed, offering her hand. I took it, using her support to sit up, and found that I was lying in the middle of the clearing we had been in earlier. It took me a minute to gather my thoughts, and the more I remembered the worse I felt.

"Can I go back to sleep?" I muttered, glaring at the ground. The arguing voices came to a stop, and many different pairs of feet began to surround me, except for one.

"Allen, you're up!" Lavi said cheerily, and I followed the muddy green converse shoes up Lavi's body and to his face. "You know, you're pretty heavy."

"What time is it?" I asked. He looked at his wrist watch.

"Two-seventeen." He replied. I just nodded, the gesture making a fresh wave of pain rush through my head.

"Do you have any Advil or something?" I asked. Lenalee held out her hand, showing a small white tablet, and Lavi pulled a water bottle out of his bag. I took them both gratefully, aware that everyone was watching me. When I finished, I looked up at Lavi again. "Uh…what exactly happened?"

"I carried you back here and let you sleep while waiting for everyone to get back." He said. "I was just explaining what happened to the others when you woke up. You hungry?"

"A little…" I was starving. My stomach was making itself known, and had been since I had woken up, but I hadn't wanted to say anything incase they thought I was being rude or something.

"Good, because it's lunch time." Lavi and Lenalee helped me up, bringing me to the picnic table and making sure I was able to sit down on my own before going back to where they had left their backpacks. My own backpack was nowhere to be seen, but I could tell it had probably helped a lot with keeping my back safe, since it didn't feel like there were any cuts or bruises on it.

"Here. You can have some of my lunch, if you want. Lavi had to get rid of your backpack, since it was slowing him down and it had too many tears in it, so you don't exactly have your own." Lenalee said, sitting down next to me when she returned. She was holding out a plastic bag, which looked like it was ready to tear in at least five places from how many things were sticking out of it. "Besides, my brother packed too much again."

"Er, thanks." I said, grinning sheepishly. I took the bag, placing it on the table and beginning to take out the contents. Lenalee pulled out a second plastic bag, with just as much in it, and I blinked, staring at the two overfull bags on the table. Komui seemed to be written all over it.

Everything in the bag seemed to be homemade, and my mouth watered just seeing them, even though the fact that little hearts and Lenalee's name were decorated all over everything made it a little difficult to take seriously. Lenalee began to eat from the other bag, and I gratefully began to eat from the bag she had given me. I began with the biscuits, since they seemed to look the most appetizing.

"Your brother's a really good cook." I said through my mouthful of food. Lenalee giggled, covering her mouth. After a minute, she swallowed and took a deep breath, still smiling.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Allen!" She chided happily. I grinned, but quickly covered my mouth, my cheeks burning when I felt the food that had been on my lips. I swallowed quickly, laughing lightly and removing my hand from my face.

"We've got the table to ourselves." I jumped when I heard Lavi directly behind me, and his interruption in the happy moment reminded me of Fou. My smile disappeared, and I turned back to the food, stuffing more into my mouth in order to avoid questions from Lenalee. "The Noahs agreed that since you're injured you can have the table, and the others don't want to sit at the table anyways."

"Fou's okay, right?" Lenalee asked, which had been the question I was about to ask. I was a little glad she had been the one to ask, and not me, but at the same time I felt guilty for not being more concerned about the girl.

"Yeah, she's fine. A little hostile, but that's all." I froze. Was Lavi going to tell Lenalee?

"Poor girl…" Lenalee whispered. "I told her she should just leave it alone." My heart sped up, and I looked up at Lenalee in surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"I've known for a while that she liked you. My first hint was the way she always ignored you. Even though she has an attitude, she doesn't usually completely ignore people, not even the Noahs. The second hint was the way she gave you a nickname, and the way she continued to hang out with you even after Lavi stopped asking her favors. If she doesn't like a person, she gets away from them as soon as possible. Third, whenever you were around she would try her hardest to act tough." I frowned, stumped.

"But that makes no sense. If she liked me, why wouldn't she try to get on my good side? I thought that was what girls did—try and make themselves _more_ innocent, not less." I wasn't sure I could keep up with a girl's mind.

"Well, Fou's a little different, I guess. Technically, though, that's not true. A girl has no specific boundaries to the way she acts around a guy she likes. Generally, though, it's either trying too hard not to be obvious that it becomes obvious, or trying to be obvious by flirting and such." Lenalee explained, as if it were a simple math equation. At the moment, math felt like the easiest thing in the world.

"I don't get it." I muttered, giving up. "Honestly, it doesn't matter anymore anyways. Nothing's going to happen."

"I know." Lenalee whispered, and Lavi patted me on the back from his spot beside me.

"So she told you? Or did Lavi?" I asked, not lifting my head as I turned to look at her. She looked different when I saw her from a down angle.

"She did. We got Kanda to walk at least ten feet ahead at all times." Lenalee looked pretty proud of herself when she said this, and I laughed.

"He probably didn't like that much, huh?" I asked, pushing myself up and about to take more food, but it had disappeared. I blinked, staring at the empty space. "Where'd it go?"

"Oh, you were still eating?" My eyebrow twitched, and I turned to look at Lavi, rage beginning to take over when I saw that he had moved all of the food that Lenalee had given me over to his side. He was half way through eating a biscuit, looking perfectly happy.

"Lavi…" I hissed, "Give it back…now…"

"Nope."

("…")

"Do you give up yet?"

"Ow, ow, yes!"

"What do you say?"

"What do you-okay, okay! I give! I'm sorry for taking away Lenalee-_your_ food!" I released his ear and stood up from my straddling position, wiping off my pants and smirking down at the redhead. He pouted, rubbing his ear before pushing himself up. "How'd you get to be strong enough to overpower me?"

"You took my food." Was all I said, going back to the picnic table and grabbing more of the baked goods, stuffing a donut in my mouth.

"Er…right…" He said from behind me, and I turned to look at him. "Anyways, it's time to gather everyone around."

"Are we playing that game now?" Lenalee asked, having just watched our scrap from the picnic table while calmly eating. She had even cheered for me a couple of times. I placed my food back on the table, stashing a couple more biscuits in my pocket.

"Yeah. I'll be right back." Lavi said, walking away while rubbing his still-red ear.

"Allen?" I hesitated from turning around, not quite ready to face Lenalee, since she was the one person that was able to make me regret the things I did. When I saw her face, I relaxed a little. She wore only a gentle smile. "Are you okay with how things are now?" It took me a moment to answer her question, since I wasn't so sure myself.

"Well, not really. I don't want to lose Fou as a friend. After all, it's because of my ignorance that this happened. If I would have noticed this happening, I probably could have prevented it in a way that wouldn't hurt her." I admitted, taking a seat next to the Chinese girl. When had I started trusting these people so completely? Why was it so effortless to tell Lenalee my feelings now? Why was it that I had told Lavi the truth without him even needing to ask me more than once?

"I'm not so sure that's true, and besides, I don't think someone like you would be able to realize something like that until it's so obvious that it's impossible to ignore it anymore." For some reason I didn't think that was a compliment. "Fou takes a lot of things hard, and so no matter what would've happened she would have ended up upset."

"Not if nothing ever happened. She would just gradually stop liking me, wouldn't she?" I asked, frowning.

"Not necessarily. There's always the chance that she would only end up liking you more and more as time went on, to the point where she would become blind to any other man around her and would most likely live a rather unhappy, unfulfilled life, because all you would ever do was avoid her." Lenalee said calmly, and I winced.

"I don't even know why I felt so odd when she kissed me…" I whispered. "It felt wrong, as if I were kissing my sister or something. I don't know why I don't like her, or why I can't start. It's like a barricade or something, but I don't know what's causing it."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Allen. we can't control our feelings." She said quietly, gently. "Otherwise, Fou probably would have stopped liking you a while ago."

"What did you mean…when you said you had already told her to just leave it alone?" I asked. Lenalee smiled secretively.

"Because, I've had my eye on you two for a while now." I had a feeling she didn't mean me and Fou. If it wasn't Fou, though, then who?

"Alright, everyone's here!" Lavi chimed from behind me, and I jumped. I looked back, finding that he had brought everybody over to the picnic table, and I could see Fou hiding in the back. "So, we're going to play a little game of Capture the Flag."

"That's a little childish, isn't it?" Tykki said in a bored manner from behind Lavi, of whom was only facing me and Lenalee. He turned to face the rest of the people, leaving me to stay behind him.

"Well, it's still fun." Lavi replied. "Besides, it's full contact. The border line goes from the beginning of the mountain to the stream that's just over there, and from road to road length-wise. Half way line will be down the middle of this clearing, so one of the teams might have more ground than the other, but that's as much an advantage as it is a disadvantage. You can hide your flag anywhere in your area, so long as it's on the ground and in plain sight when you get at least ten feet away from it.

"You can have two people to guard the flag, and can do whatever you want with the extra players. It's suggested you have at least one person running around on your side to check for anyone going over the border, and like I said earlier, it's full contact. If there's someone on your side, you can do whatever you want to get them back to their side, but _only_ to get them back to their side. You can't keep them on your side, and no knocking them out. There's no such thing as tagging and then going back to your side. You have to fight. Also, everyone needs to go easy on Allen and Fou." Lavi finished with a cheeky grin, looking proud of himself.

"So you win when you get the opponent's flag onto your side?" Lenalee asked.

"Well…yeah…" Lavi scratched the back of his head. "I thought that would be the most obvious part." There was a long pause. "Anyways. I think we all know our teams. We have five minutes to hide the flags and get into our positions. Begin."

I wasn't sure which was faster—the way we effortlessly split up into two teams, or the way we wordlessly chose our sides. Everyone headed into the forest together, and I knew that we had the advantage with seven people. Then I paused. "Wait…wouldn't it be good to have a referee?"

"You're right!" Lavi grinned, and then chuckled. "I already thought of that though. Marie's going to be our ref."

"Marie?" I asked, thinking maybe a girl, but then I noticed the same boy that I had seen before that I didn't know. He was standing there, his eyes still closed, on what I imagined was the invisible boundary line. "Why are his eyes closed?" If he was there, then that meant we were back to even numbers on both sides.

"He's blind. However, he can hear things almost as good as a dog. So, he'll be able to hear everything that goes on around the clearing at least, and if he walks around then it'll be easy for him to hear most of the stuff going on." Lavi explained, and then turned towards Marie. "Good luck! We're counting on you!"

"I'll be here." Was all he said, his voice rather deep. Lavi and I disappeared behind the trees together then, following the rest of our group and looking back to see the Noahs doing the same.

"What about the flags?" I asked.

"Already thought of that, too." Lavi pulled out a red bandana. "They have a blue one."

"When did you give them that?" I asked.

"I gave it to Tykki earlier. You know, when I was rounding everyone up. Trust me, I wasn't exactly willing to give him something besides a fist in the face." I chuckled, and gradually we became the leaders in the group, until Lavi stopped in a random area and picked up a twig, tying the bandana to it. He stuck the twig in the ground, and it looked like a mini flag.

"I'll be a guard." Fou's voice was sort of dead, without its usual spunk, and a fresh wave of guilt washed through me. Thankfully, the Advil I had taken had long taken effect, and so when she shoved past me I didn't feel more pain than I normally would have. I winced, not liking this new Fou. Lavi placed a hand on my shoulder in silent comfort.

"Me, too!" Lenalee volunteered, waving her hand in the air and grinning. I felt like she was doing it for my sake.

"All right, I guess it's been decided." Lavi said heartily, releasing my shoulder.

"I'll be on watch." Daisya said calmly, already walking back towards the boundaries. I swallowed nervously.

"That leaves me, Yuu and Allen to be the offensive." Lavi chimed, obviously happy with the results.

"Great." Kanda scoffed, stalking off in the direction Daisya was going in. Lavi grabbed my wrist and dragged me off, and I stumbled after him. He was slower than Kanda and Daisya, though, and we soon lost them. Not long after, Lavi let go of my wrist, turning sharply to the right. Surprised by the change, I quickly caught up to him.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Well, it's not exactly smart to go right through the center now is it? Kanda's the only one stupid enough to do that. The best way to sneak into another's base is by going through the sides and staying hidden. So, that's what we're going to do." Hearing him say it made it really obvious.

"Okay, well, maybe we should try and be quiet too?" I asked, as Lavi seemed to take the loudest route possible. Every step he took he snapped another twig. As he began to try and avoid them unsuccessfully, I pulled out the two biscuits I had grabbed. He looked at me curiously, and I grinned guiltily.

"How big is your stomach?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Pretty big, I guess." He didn't say anything after that, and neither did I. Instead, we took as quiet a route as possible, getting closer and closer to the beginning of the mountain, until a distant 'begin!' was heard. The games were on.

"Allen, this way." Lavi whispered, beginning to creep towards the center line again. I turned with him, using stray logs to avoid stepping on twigs. Soon, it was like a game, as we hopped from log to log trying not to touch the ground. I felt like I was a kid again, trying not to touch the magma that would burn me alive.

I wasn't sure when we crossed the center line, but Lavi suddenly pulling me down and making me huddle with him behind a bush told me that we had come across someone. I peered through the branches, finding a girl that looked a lot like a woman walking around, wearing black sunglasses and with long blonde hair tied into a loose ponytail, her bangs cropped short. She looked a little out of place, wearing an expensive looking suit.

"Lulubell." Lavi whispered in my ear. "Watch out for her." I just nodded silently, watching as the Noah walked right past us, her overly long fingernails painfully visible when she passed us. As soon as her footsteps faded away, Lavi pulled me behind him, heading deeper into the enemy base.

We searched for a long time, creeping behind trees and trying not to be seen, and I was beginning to think that we would easily be able to take the gold when I saw Skin. He must have been their watcher, because he was prowling around in circles instead of continuing forward. I swallowed nervously, not sure we would be lucky enough to avoid this one.

"Allen, stay down." Lavi muttered, getting on his hands and knees and crawling forward. I quickly followed after him, not exactly happy to be getting more muddy than I already was. Lavi lead me in a large arc around the enemy, constantly looking back to make sure I was following, and soon Skin was out of sight. I sighed in relief, beginning to stand up. "Not yet!"

"Huh?" I looked at Lavi in surprise, half way up, and then quickly fell back down. What was wrong?

"Their flag is probably somewhere close. Skin's an idiot, and has a tendency to stay close to where his family is, so whoever the guards are will most likely be right up ahead." Lavi explained, and then moved his fingers in a gesture to continue forward. I took his advice, being careful to tread more quietly along the ground than before. It was doubtful we would be able to get to the flag without a confrontation of whoever was guarding it unless we were perfect with our timing and our strategy.

But what was our strategy? Better yet, what was _my_ strategy? I felt lost, confused, and stupid. Realizing that Fou liked me had shaken me, and I was beginning to feel like I knew less than I had thought about the people around me. It was making me feel selfish, oblivious. I was too centered on myself, and I wasn't paying enough attention to the people around me. I could have done something about what had happened today if I had decided to pay an ounce of attention to Fou, but instead I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to care.

I was so _stupid_.

"Allen, stop!" Lavi hissed, and I realized I was almost passing him. I quickly halted, bringing my head back to the game at hand, glad for the distraction. "The twins are up ahead." I knew who he was talking about easily enough, since it was hard to forget faces like theirs. I looked over the log we were hiding behind, and what I would have most likely hit my head on if Lavi hadn't of stopped me, and found the two boys from earlier this morning standing there. They stood on either side of a blue bandana tied to a twig, just like what Lavi had done.

"What do we do now?" I whispered, but Lavi just shook his head. They were about twenty feet away, give or take, and they were standing a little too close to the flag. So much for timing and strategy.

"We need a distraction." Lavi muttered, glaring at the black haired one. It really did seem like he was ignoring the blonde.

"Lavi…why are you ignoring the blonde guy?" I asked. He blinked, surprised, and looked at me.

"You noticed?" he asked, and I just nodded. He shrugged. "Jasdero never really did anything bad to me. He just does what his brother tells him to do, and that's it. So, I just don't acknowledge him, since he does the same for me. It's a mutual thing."

"His name's Jasdero?" I asked. I was distracted now, intent on finding out about the two boys.

"Yeah. The other one's David. Together, they're Jasdebi, or something like that. I don't know why, but people started calling them that. Anyways, they're total pranksters and stir up trouble not only for the school and the town but for their family too. They played a pretty cruel joke on me once, too."

"Really?" I asked, intrigued. "What did they do?"

"Allen, now's really not the time for that. Please, concentrate on _now_." He hissed, but the hint of a blush on his face told me he was just trying to avoid the subject. I obliged anyways, tired of blushes for the day. "Now, if we could just find a distraction…"

Something cracked in the bushes, and heavy grunts as if someone was pushing against something heavy reached my ears. Lavi and I both looked back at the same time, surprised to find Kanda and Skin in a duel, Kanda carrying an extremely large and thick stick and using it to push against Skin, pushing him closer and closer to us. However, they were out of view from the twins.

"Go and see what that is." David said, glaring at the bushes, and I swallowed, ducking down lower. Jasdero walked forward, in the complete opposite direction than where Skin and Kanda really were. David crept forward, too, and I wondered how they had all been so oblivious to Lavi and mine's presence. It wasn't exactly like we had been the most quiet of people, considering we had just been talking rather loudly and had snapped at least three branches while waiting around here.

"Allen, this is our chance," Lavi whispered, pulling his headband down so that it hung around his neck with his scarf, shaking his hair out and ducking low. "Stay here, just in case." He muttered, and turned to the right to go around the log. David was getting closer and closer, and I knew what I needed to do.

As soon as Lavi disappeared into the nearest bush, David reached the log and was looking down at me. I swallowed, already knowing that this was going to happen, and I stood. "Go easy on me," I whimpered, before turning and running. Laughter floated behind me, and then I heard his footsteps as he began to run after me.

"Come back and be a good boy!" David called after me, and I took a sharp turn, hoping I would be able to lose him by hiding behind a tree or something. Instead, he just got closer to me. Cursing, I turned back towards the way I thought the center line was, even though I had no idea where I was and had absolutely no sense of direction. I was, to say the least, lost, but all I had to do was distract him long enough to let Lavi get by.

_Thank god Kanda came at that time_. I thought, even though I didn't want to thank Kanda. My breath was starting to come short, and an ache was starting in my chest. I slowed down, my legs aching and pain coming back in areas that had been hurt from my hurdle down the hill. David was catching up, I could hear him, but I didn't stop running.

"Clothesline!" someone shouted, and an arm appeared out of nowhere. I just barely avoided it, but David didn't seem to have much luck. I skidded to a stop, turning around to see what had happened. Daisya was standing there, grinning like a madman, his arm hooked around David's waist. I winced, and was surprised when I saw Lavi not far off, grinning like a madman and waving the blue bandana around wildly.

"Freedom is ours!" He yelled as he passed me, laughing madly. I realized that if Daisya was there, then we had crossed the line. In other words, we had won. I laughed, a little surprised, a funny feeling rushing through me.

"Yahoo! We did it!" Daisya crowed, grinning madly. I fell on my butt, staring in amazement as David cursed, falling to the ground and clutching his stomach.

"Lavi's team are the winners!" Marie's voice just barely reached my ears, and I blinked in surprise. He had heard?

"We won, we won, we won, we won!" Daisya began to do a little jig, and Kanda appeared through the trees with a bleeding lip. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that grimace was more of a smile.

"Shut up, Daisya. You're embarrassing." He snapped, walking past him and stopping in front of me. "You're a pussy."

"Er…what?" I asked, surprised.

"If some guy comes up to you, don't go running off pissing your pants. Fight him." He said calmly.

"Is that advice?" I asked slyly, smirking. He just scoffed. "I can't exactly fight in these conditions, you know."

"Not like you would have fought anyways." He snapped, walking off. I just smiled, falling back and staring up at the sky, blurred by the evergreens surrounding us.

"Feel good?" I drew my eyes further back, finding Lavi standing there with a huge grin on his face.

"Yeah, actually. Thanks." I whispered. He just grinned, holding out a hand.

"I think we'll have another round. That only lasted a half an hour." Lavi said. I blinked in surprise.

"That long?" I asked. It had felt more like ten minutes.

"Yeah. Anyways, let's go." I just nodded, taking his hand and hoisting myself up. I followed him back to the clearing, considering I had no idea where we were, and the whole way there all I could do was smile.

("…")

We had another four rounds, one lasting for two hours it was so difficult. After their letup with Lavi and me, the twins were more on guard and weren't letting anyone near the flag. The two hour game had ended up being won by the Noahs, but that was the only other game we let them get away with. The end result was that we were winning four to one by the time Lavi announced we needed to stop and start heading home, since it was so dark.

Fou didn't talk to me once. She didn't even look at me. It was like I didn't exist. Yet, I knew she was still aware of me, because every single time I went near her she would suddenly become rigid still and not move from her spot. It seemed Lenalee had become her new support, and didn't leave her side once. When I had become guard because Fou wanted to be on the offense, Lenalee had immediately gone with her. As a result, Daisya had stayed with me.

Lavi had gotten the bandana three out of four times. The only time he hadn't had been when Kanda had gone berserk and simply ran straight through the twins and snatched the flag, then ran like a bulldozer back to our side. Lavi had had a good laugh with that one. Currently, he was recounting the story to Lenalee, who was laughing at him, everyone carrying a flashlight but me.

I strayed away from the group, heading towards the bushes, in need of releasing myself. No one noticed. I was about to head into the bushes when voices caught my attention. "…Aren't going as planned. He's winning everything, and his stupid grandfather is getting more and more cunning. If we aren't careful, we'll lose our chance."

"Even if you say that, what are we supposed to do about it?" That was Road's voice. They were standing together, her and Tykki, without flashlights. I hadn't noticed them missing because they had originally been on the complete opposite side of the clearing in the first place.

"We have to strike soon, before they can make a full counterattack against us. If we lose this chance, then it's over for us. We already failed in getting him on our side. The Earl has already said that if we fail one more time we're out." The Earl? Who would want to be named that? "But how do we get to him?"

"I know…" Road whispered, her voice sounding a little odd. "His new pet." Were they…talking about me? Tykki's comment on my being Lavi's new pet echoed in my ears, and my heart thudded in my chest. They were planning something against Lavi. "After all, he seems to be attached to the boy. More than usual. There's something else there."

I began to walk away, but a twig snapped under my shoe. "Shh!" Tykki hissed, and I caught their movement just barely in the dark. A flashlight went on, and I ducked down. The light swerved around, going over the spot I had just been, before turning off again.

"Jesus, you're paranoid." Road whispered. "Anyways, let's go back. David and Jasdero said they would let me play with their guns when we get home." I raised my eyebrows at this statement, wondering what kind of a family in Canada would own guns and carelessly talk about playing with them.

As they walked off, I relaxed a little more, until their footsteps completely faded away. No longer needing to go to the washroom, I headed back to the group, finding that Kanda, Daisya and Marie had already gone. Lenalee was riding with Fou. When Lavi saw me, he gave me no chance to talk, he just dragged me off. I waved helplessly at Lenalee, Fou turning her back on me, as we went along the short path leading to the parking lot.

When we reached the SUV, Lavi released me. He opened his door, and the area flooded with light. He turned off his flashlight, letting out a long sigh. "Man, that was a long day." He sighed out.

"Maybe you shouldn't have made us do four more rounds." I stated casually. Lavi chuckled.

"Maybe, but it was still fun." Lavi replied. He slipped into the SUV, looking at me expectantly. "Come on, let's go before Fou and Lenalee get here." I just nodded, going around and getting into the car. The engine purred to life, and music turned on instantly, but Lavi turned it off. "I don't feel like music on the way back."

"Alright." I muttered, but I didn't blame him. I didn't feel like music at the moment, either. I was overwhelmed with thoughts about Fou and what could be happening with Road and Tykki. I said nothing until we were well on the gravel road. "Hey, Lavi…do you know if the Noahs are planning anything against you?" I asked.

"As far as I know, a lot of things." He replied casually.

"Would they use…well, I mean, would they go as far as using your friends to get to you?" I asked. Lavi frowned, his eyes narrowing as he paid attention to the little amount of road given light.

"Knowing them, probably. I guess the best thing I can do if that were to happen, though, would be to trust in my friends to not betray me." He said lightly, giving a small smile before frowning again. "Then again, I guess I can't really say I have any _real_ friends besides Yuu." His words echoed in my head, and I bit down on my lip.

"I see." I muttered. There was a long pause, and a sigh left Lavi's lips.

"I mean, of course you're my friend, and so is Lenalee, and Fou, and all the others, but it's difficult to understand what I mean when I say that. There's something different about me and Yuu. He knows more about me than anyone else, just like I know more about him. He is the only one who actually _shares_ my secrets, not just knows them. He's in all the same sticky situations as me because of our families, he's just not as threatened as I am because I'm…" He stopped.

"You don't need to explain to me," I muttered. "I understand."

"You don't really sound like it." Lavi snapped, but I just shrugged it off. I didn't feel like arguing with him.

"I'm just tired, and I'm in pain. I _did_ fall down a hill today." I pointed out feebly, leaning back further in my seat. Besides, I didn't want to go on with this conversation. If it went on any longer, then it would turn in a direction I didn't want it to. As it was-

"Allen…I wanted to ask you a few questions. About your past."

My heart froze. Why did he always seem to bring up the one thing I was dreading? "I don't know if I can answer them." I admitted, looking out the window in order to avoid seeing his face.

"Then answer them to the best of your abilities, and I will do the same for you." Lavi said calmly, only surprising me a little. After all, he knew that I would give nothing if I received nothing in return.

"Then…" I let out a gentle sigh. "Hit me."

"Can I really?" Lavi asked, grinning suddenly. I rolled my eyes, and his expression went back to serious.

"What do you remember of your past?" He asked. This confused me; it was such a vague question, and it could be answered in many different ways. But I guess this was a good enough strategy. After all, I had agreed to the best of my abilities. Giving me a vague question like that was allowing me to stay in my safe zone.

"Almost everything beyond seven years old. I vaguely remember things from when I was five and six, but other than that, I have no idea." I said calmly.

"Who exactly is this Master?" I blinked, wondering why he would want to know about Master.

"He's my guardian. He used to…" I stopped there. I swallowed nervously, biting my lip before continuing. "He used to be a scientist of sorts, I guess. Do you remember the golden golem you saw the other day?" I asked. Lavi just nodded. "He invented it. Actually, it's not so much an it as a him. His name's Timcanpy, but it's easier to just call him Tim."

"Why did he become your guardian?" I could feel my throat tightening, and I took a deep breath to try and loosen it.

"Because…of Mana…" I muttered, and as soon as the name left my lips I knew I had reached my boundaries. I was digging too deep into my past. Flashes of a hideous book entered my mind, followed by a smiling face, a piano, police, sirens, fire, hot chocolate on a winter night, a Christmas tree, being alone, and finally, it stopped on something that I had been trying to suppress for six years. My breathing became ragged, and my heart was beating too fast. Blood was rushing through my veins, and I could hear my gasping breath. "No…no…"

"Allen, calm down!" I shook my head, grabbing my hair and pulling at it, trying to forget the image currently burning into my mind. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks, and I could hear the sobs retching through me, but I ignored it all. I started smashing my head against the dashboard, and grinded my teeth together.

"Go away…go away…go away…" I whispered, chanting to myself, each time another hit on the dashboard.

"Allen, stop it!" Arms were securing me now, pulling me away from the dashboard and towards a warm, solid chest. I was vaguely aware that the car was off now. "You're going to hurt yourself if you don't calm down!"

"Let go of me!" I cried out, struggling against the restraining arms. Sobs continued to course through me, and I wasn't sure how long we sat there for, but Lavi never let go once, not until I finally gave up, slumping forward in defeat and crying gently into his jacket. Instead of letting go, he only wrapped his arms around me securely, and I continued to cry, clutching at his jacket.

"I'm sorry, Allen…"

You're not the one who should be sorry.

End Chapter

A/N: Yay, it's done! So, I put some pretty predictable stuff in here I think, and a little typical, but I decided what the heck lets just put it in. I hope the last part wasn't too cheesy or too fast…I feel like I rushed a few parts, and dragged on some parts a little too long, but other than that I'm fairly pleased with this chapter, especially since it ended up being the longest one yet. It makes me happy.

I'm not really sure what I centered on for this chapter, really. I think it was mostly Fou and Allen's confusion with girls. Anyways, I hope I didn't do too bad on the twins, since they're a little difficult to describe when it comes for the makeup. At least…for me, it is. Well, review purty please!


	10. Sanctuary

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Chapter 10: Sanctuary

_Mana hadn't mentioned the book to Allen once. He didn't say he suspected the boy of seeing the book, or ask him odd questions that could secretly be about the book. Instead, everything continued on as usual, and an unusual but exciting treat was coming up soon. Mana was going to take Allen to the zoo, all the way over in Vancouver. To say the least, the boy was excited._

_Even now, two days before they were leaving, he was packing everything he could think of, since they would be gone for a week. It was good timing, since his school was having a long break right now, but Mana said even if it wasn't he would have taken them all out. Unfortunately, Cross was coming as well. Happily, Allen added in his favorite stuffed animal, before hesitating and pulling it back out. _

"_I want to cuddle with you until we leave." He declared aloud, smiling. The eight and a half year old boy felt happier than he had since the incident a few months ago, and he had a feeling that this was the reason they were going in the first place. Mana was the only person who knew exactly what he needed during tough times._

Since the hike, things had been different with Lavi. He didn't ask me questions about my past any more, and I avoided the questions at all cost if he let one slip. Lately, he had decided to come around during lunch, dragging Kanda along with him, and since Fou had gone back to her trio of friends in the back of the school Lenalee had taken to dragging me around again.

Things got more easy as time went on, slipping into a casual routine up until Saturday, when we would be forced to sit through the day with the Noahs, and instead of growing awkward and farther apart Lavi and I seemed to only be getting closer. Also, Halloween was fast approaching, and two weeks after the hike on Friday I found Lavi and Kanda arguing about it.

"Come on, _please_!" Lavi begged, as I turned the corner. Kanda just scoffed.

"Hell no, get out of my face." He snapped, shoving Lavi on the forehead. The redhead stumbled backwards, and Kanda walked past him, heading in my direction. I tried to smile at him in greeting, but he just glared at me.

"Yuu!" Lavi called desperately, beginning to run after him. When he saw me, he smiled, waving before pursuing Kanda again. "Come on, Allen wants you to, too!"

"What do I want again?" I asked, frowning.

"I'm trying to convince him to hold the Halloween party at his house," Lavi replied with a grin. "Want to help?"

"Not really." I said casually, shrugging. Lavi's expression dropped immediately into a pout.

"Please, please, please, please, please?!" He begged, going on his knees and bringing his hands up as if in prayer. I rolled my eyes.

"Nope." I said meekly, and then looked at Kanda, then back at Lavi. "Why don't you hold it, anyways?"

Lavi's face fell dark, and his hands dropped onto the floor. "Stupid old panda…demon, devil, cunning old geezer, pain in the ass, piece of-" I interrupted him there, sure I didn't want to hear the rest of the names he had in mind.

"Alright, so you're not aloud," I had long associated things like 'old geezer' and 'panda' as his authority figure, but I still had no real proof of this. "You can still just not have a party." Lavi gave me the most horrified expression he could probably muster, and I winced. "Or…you could…"

"You were kidding, right?" he demanded. I just shrugged. "How can I _not_ hold the party! No one else is going to! Where are all the teenagers going to go on Halloween night if I don't hold this party?"

"Fine, then hold the party, but you don't have to force someone else to do it for you." I glanced at Kanda, who had long since stopped walking to listen to our conversation, and he scoffed.

"Stupid rabbit will probably just beg me again as soon as you're gone." He said, glaring at Lavi.

"Well, I tried." I said.

"Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!" Lavi snapped, standing up. "Yuu, you will hold that party!"

"Stop calling me that!" Kanda snapped.

"Then throw the party!"

"You'll still call me that even if I don't throw the party!"

"So what!" Lavi's voice was taking on a whine, while Kanda's was just plain cold. I winced the whole time.

"Would you two please stop arguing?" I jumped, searching for the owner of the voice until I found her, standing not too far away from Lavi. Lenalee smiled at me before giving the other two boys a motherly look. "Lavi, stop bugging him. Kanda, why don't you just hold the party so he'll stop whining, and you already know you were going to give in eventually anyways."

Kanda scoffed for somewhere around the third time since I had walked around the corner. "Whatever. Don't expect me to try and convince my parents, that's up to you. If anyone goes into my room I swear to god I will personally kill you, and then I will kill them." He said, and walked off. I watched him go, wondering why he had to make everything so much more dramatic than necessary.

"Great! So, Allen, make sure you're ready for tomorrow." Lavi said cheerily, back on his feet and wiping his jeans off.

"You mean for the club? Why bother?" I asked, but Lavi just laughed.

"There's no club activities tomorrow, or next week, and probably not the week after. Well, there is, but we're not going to be in the club room for any of them, and tomorrow everyone is off doing whatever I assigned them." Lavi explained, and I blinked. I still found it hard to believe that Lavi was like the ring leader for all of this, the one everyone listened to.

"So? Why are you telling me to be ready for tomorrow?" I asked, cautious now. He had something up his sleeve, I was sure.

"We're going shopping!" He jumped high in the hair, doing a victory-type pose, acting like some giddy school girl.

"Lavi…are you sure you're a male…?" I asked, backing away slowly. He glared at me.

"Don't be like that, Allen," the glare turned into a pout. "Of course I'm a male."

"You're not acting like one." I replied. Lavi gawked in horror.

"How can you say such horrible things all the time?" He cried out, covering his face dramatically.

"Who's saying horrible things?" A voice asked from behind me, and I sighed, turning around. How many people were showing up now?

"Oh, Ms. Lotto!" Lenalee called happily, and I blinked, staring at Miranda Lotto in surprise. She wore a long gothic black dress, her black-brown hair down today.

"Please, call me Miranda." The woman said, walking forward. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine," Lavi said happily, slinging an arm over my shoulder. I was still baffled by how easily his mood could change sometimes. "You seem more comfortable with your job now."

"Yes, well…" Miranda smiled tentatively. "The children here have been very welcoming, and I've yet to be fired, so I feel a little bit more confident…" She must have been feeling a whole lot more calm, too. I still remembered the last time I had seen her, which had been the first, and how she had been so dramatic and apologetic, along with her partner or comrade or whoever, Alistair.

"Where's Mr. Krory today?" Lenalee asked, and Miranda waved a hand absently.

"Please, he prefers to just be called Krory, and he's currently still working. I think he may have said something about a poker game with a couple of the kids, as well…" Lavi and I exchanged a look at the same time, and I wondered what kind of a teacher would play a poker game with his students, and just how much the students would be getting out of him. From the look on Lavi's face, he was thinking the same thing.

"Maybe…you should go check on him?" Lenalee suggested, smiling. Lavi and I nodded, looking back at Miranda.

"The kids around here are really cunning." Lavi said. "They'll probably end up scraping every bit of money Krory has, and then humiliate him in some other way as well."

"Oh dear…" Miranda looked worried now, and without saying goodbye she turned and fled towards the nearest entrance, which was around the corner. As soon as she was gone, Lavi released his hold on my shoulders and turned to Lenalee.

"So, you know what you're doing tomorrow?" Lavi asked, and she nodded in the affirmative.

"Yup, just leave it to me." She said happily, and then looked at me. "Allen, don't be too scared." With that, she turned and began to walk off.

"W-wait! What does that mean?!" I cried out, trying to go after her, but Lavi already had me by the hood of my sweater.

"Leave her be, she's going off to her friends." Lavi said, dragging me back. "Which leaves just you and me."

"And…that's supposed to be a good thing?" I asked weakly, sighing and deciding to give up something that hadn't even been started (but would be). "So? What am I doing for you tomorrow?"

"Good question!" Lavi remarked loudly, stopping in his tracks. I skidded to a halt before I could smack into him. "The two of us are going to go shopping for Halloween costumes!"

"The…two of us…?" I asked slowly, staring at him in horror. "You mean…only for a couple of hours, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope. We'll be gone the whole day. In fact, we'll be driving to the next town so we can go to their mall, so be ready." Lavi said happily, obviously thinking this plan was perfectly fine. I groaned.

"Why do you have to drag me along?" I wined. Lavi blinked down at me.

"Don't you know? You're my new pet." He said, his grin turning mischievous. I glared, smacking his hand away.

"I'm not something that can be considered a pet," I snapped. "I'm a human being."

"Yes, but humans are animals too, aren't they? So therefore, since we take it upon ourselves to call 'lesser' animals our pets, why not call each other pets too? Surely if an animal were able to speak the way we do then we would be hearing them calling us pets as well." Lavi winked, probably trying to seem extremely smart and witty (which, if it were any other argument but this one, I would say it was fairly convincing).

"Yes, but since we're both equal and both the same species, I would say it would be just wrong to call me a pet. It's disgusting to hear human beings calling other human beings pets, and it's unfair and unjust. Things like that should have been demolished when the slave trade was demolished." I stated, glaring firmly at the redhead. He laughed.

"Allen, I think you're getting a little mixed up." He said. "Being called a pet is something completely different from being a slave. Besides, if you don't like it that much I'll stop. I was just copying Road, after all. If you had any sense of humor at all you would have caught on to that a long time ago." He gave me that Cheshire grin again. I suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Well…next time, just don't call me a pet," I muttered, looking away stubbornly. Lavi just laughed again, beginning to walk. Hesitating only briefly, I followed after him. Even in a situation like this, when I was left embarrassed because he once again won a petty argument, I couldn't help but follow him. It was like he had a leash around my neck, and I found myself wondering if it could be true that I was actually something of a pet towards him.

I contradicted myself. It was just that he was my friend, and I was drawn to him, and as such I couldn't help but follow him. It had nothing to do with him trying to control me, because he wasn't. I knew that if I had decided to turn the other way just now, he wouldn't have stopped me. I was left with completely free will, and I chose to follow him, because I couldn't seem to resist.

I was starting to get really agitated by this.

("…")

"Again?" I cringed when Master's voice rang through my ears, and I slowly turned towards him. "Where are you going this time?"

"To the next town to go Halloween shopping," I muttered.

"You sure have made friends fast." He said, leaning against the hallway wall.

"I'm not so sure I was the one who made friends," I muttered, slipping on my black jacket. "They were the ones who found me."

"Why would they want to do that?" Master asked, sounding genuinely surprised, though genuinely with him was more like a cruel monotone. I ignored the question, placing a hand on the doorknob.

"I'm going," I said, and opened the door. I wasn't surprised to find Lavi there, looking expectant. At least he didn't hit me in the face this time.

"Hey!" he said, raising his hand happily. I just grunted, shuffling past him. "He's not a morning person, is he?"

"I wouldn't say that's true, he gets up at least two hours before me every day," Master replied. I glared at the sidewalk, stopping midway through the yard.

"Lavi, can we go?" I called impatiently.

"See you later," Lavi said happily, and the sound of the door closing reached my ears. A moment later, and Lavi was by my side. "So, why're you so grumpy?"

"I don't want to go," I sighed. "It can't be helped, though. If I don't go you'll just torture me for weeks with your nagging." We reached the car, and I didn't bother waiting for Lavi to get in or invite me inside, I just opened the door and slipped into my seat. A moment later and Lavi was also in the car.

"So, you really don't want to go?" Lavi asked, turning the car on. This wasn't actually true, I did want to go, since I always seemed to have fun with Lavi, but at the same time every time I went somewhere with him something happened that was either embarrassing or terrible. I wasn't sure what would happen today, since I would actually be alone with just Lavi, and it had made me restless all night. I hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep.

"Just go," I muttered. There was a long pause.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." I looked up in surprise. "I just thought it would be fun, and lately…well, in the end, you're the only one I feel like being around," Lavi smiled at me sheepishly, and I stared at him blankly. Why had people been saying that lately? I wasn't special, I didn't even show enthusiasm half the time, yet they all wanted me to be around. Why?

"Lavi, can I ask you something?"

"Well, you just did, but sure." I rolled my eyes, but continued on anyways.

"Can we stay in town, please?" I asked. He seemed surprised, but slowly nodded.

"Yeah, sure." He said. He didn't ask me why, he just drove. I wasn't so sure why anyways, but last night I hadn't had a nightmare. The reason for this was because I hadn't fallen asleep, but I was still worried. It was like that nightmare was my constant reminder of life, of what happened to people every day, of reality, and not having it was like not seeing reality. These days with Lavi, with everyone, had been so dream-like that lately my only reality had been my dreams. I didn't want to lose sight of my reality, because otherwise I would soon forget that I could be hurt again, that these people could disappear on me. I would begin to get a false sense of security.

Lavi ended up stopping in front of a store I had never been to, on the complete opposite side of the town I had explored almost a month ago. It looked almost creepy, like there was something sinister inside, but seeing Lavi's happy expression made me relax. "What is this?" I asked, beginning to take off my seat belt.

"A place that specializes in Halloween, I guess you could say. It's not very well known, since it's in a more homey area, and I'm one of few regular customers." He was right. Everywhere around here were houses. This place could have just been a normal house if not for the 'Open' sign hanging on the door. "The people in the neighborhood come here for their costumes sometimes, but most of them are too scared to go in."

"So why are we going in?" I mumbled under my breath, opening the car door.

"Because this place is the best." Lavi replied, and I tensed. I hadn't realized he had heard me. I didn't move until I heard his car door shut. Lavi appeared by my side just as I was closing the door. "I mean, I would've just gone shopping here for everyone's costumes but since you were coming with me I decided we could go on a little road trip instead. Then you said you wanted to stay in town, so I decided to stick with my usual plan. I've been coming here for the past five years, by the way."

"Lavi, why did you just say _everyone's_ costumes?" I asked slowly. Lavi blinked at me, looking surprised.

"I pick out their costumes for them," he said. "If they don't like it then they have to suck it up." He grinned maliciously, and I swallowed. "The same goes for you. If not, then I'm going to make you eat some stuff you never even knew existed, and trust me, it won't be pretty." Of course, I loved food, but generally only food that wasn't rotten or pickled for a hundred years, which seemed to be what Lavi had in mind from the glint in his eyes.

"Pleasant." Was all I said, inching away from him and closer to the store. Lavi chuckled, following closely. He was the one who ended up opening the door, waiting for me to get inside before following. I was actually sort of surprised that the store looked relatively normal, with bright beige walls and fluorescent lights, a set of stairs leading up to the second floor of what had probably used to be a normal house. It looked like all the walls had been knocked down on the first floor except for one room that stood in the far left corner, padlocked and hidden behind the many racks of clothing. A great deal of displays were all along the walls and in the windows, of many different designs and ideas.

"Hello, Lavi." I jumped, looking to the right, where I hadn't noticed a desk with a till. An old lady sat behind it, her face hidden by a curtain of gray hair. I could see her teeth just barely, though. They were crooked and yellow, and I was reminded of a witch. She even wore a long black robe. I shivered.

"Good day, Annabelle?" Lavi asked, waving in the direction of the old lady as he headed towards a random rack.

"The usual. Business will be picking up in a few days, I imagine." She replied. Her voice was crackly, and a little high pitched. She sounded like she was having a hard time saying the words that were coming out of her mouth. "You've always been my best customer, of course. Who's this young lad you've brought along this time?"

"His name's Allen. He's a good kid." I was surprised how soft Lavi's voice was as he talked to the old lady. "He's been living here for six years, but we never really started talking until about a month ago."

"Really now? This is the first time you've ever brought anyone with you to shop. You've always been alone, never even talked about friends even though you bought at least six costumes every year." The old woman continued, and I turned to look at Lavi. I was the first person he had ever brought here? Not even Kanda?

"Yeah, well, Allen's different." I stared at Lavi for a long time, wondering what on earth he meant, when he suddenly turned on me. "What do you think?" he asked, showing me a long black robe. It had purple embroidery, with gray flame patterns along the sleeves and the bottom, looking almost real.

"What is it?" I asked, confused. A wizard?

"Not sure. Maybe something for a shaman or something." Lavi shrugged, putting the costume into the fold of his arm. "Annabelle, what do you think would go with it?"

"Don't be shy, dear. Go and help him look." I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt the old, shaking hand on my shoulder, and turned to look at the old woman. She had made it all the way behind me from the desk in the time that I had been watching Lavi. "A good pair of traditional black Japanese clothing would do well, I suppose." She added, and Lavi just nodded.

"Over in that rack, right?" He asked, pointing to a rack in a far off corner by the single room.

"Yes, of course." Her attention turned back to me. I hadn't moved since her hand had gone on my shoulder. "What do you think you would like to be for Halloween, dear?"

"U-uh…" I stuttered. My heart was beating against my chest, and I was afraid she would hear it.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Lavi called over his shoulder. "I'll have something picked out for him in no time. For now, come and help me choose a costume for Lenalee, Allen." I just nodded, the old woman's hand dropping. I quickly went to where Lavi was, swallowing nervously. "What do you think?" he pulled off a red and white cheerleader outfit, and I stared at Lavi blankly.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked, and Lavi laughed.

"Sort of, not really," he said. "I think she would look cute. I made her a bumblebee last year and she said if I do something like that again this year she's going to kick me into the ground. She has some pretty fierce kicks." I couldn't really imagine Lenalee being angry, but remembering some of the times that she had gotten close to it I realized I never really wanted to see her angry in the first place.

"Well then, don't put her in a mini skirt and make her some kind of display for other guys," I replied. I was already calming down from the old lady appearing. "What about…" I looked around, and saw a display off to the side. "A princess dress?" I asked, staring at the display in surprise. It really looked like it was a one of a kind dress, and even though the lights were dull the sparkles still sent little rainbows all over the dress.

"Wow, Allen. I never realized you had those kinds of fantasies." Lavi laughed, patting me on the shoulder, and I blushed.

"I just saw it and got surprised, so it sort of just rushed out of my mouth," I muttered.

"Sure, sure." Lavi agreed heartily, patting me on the shoulder again as he began to walk to the next rack, leaving the cheerleading outfit behind. I trailed after him, staring at him. He seemed relaxed, at home. His face was soft, and it seemed like the small smile there wouldn't go away. He was happy here.

I watched him as he looked through the costumes, his face brightening especially when he grabbed certain costumes, and I would give him my half-hearted opinions. I never actually looked at the costumes, I paid more attention to his expressions. Even if he found a costume he didn't like, he would still just smile.

"Allen, don't tell me you've fallen for me?" I blinked in surprise, my face reddening with the sudden question. It had been at least ten minutes since I had pointed out the princess dress, and we were now on our fifth rack.

"W-what makes you say that?" I asked, looking away from him stubbornly. "Of course not."

"Aw, don't be embarrassed. I was watching you stare at me that whole time. You were so entranced by me that you didn't even notice when I pointed out a dress for Yuu." Lavi chimed, and I could feel my face getting even more red.

"D-don't be ridiculous. Why would I ever like a guy?" I muttered, glaring at the side of an unknown costume. Lavi just laughed.

"I don't mind. I mean, I _am_ open minded." This surprised me, and I looked up. Even though his face was smiling, I didn't see any sign of a joke in his eyes. He was telling the truth.

"You are?" I asked. He just shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't see the point in saying straight or gay or bisexual. I mean, no one really knows, do they? If you're in love, you're in love. Doesn't matter what the gender is. Or at least, that's what I think." He gave me another grin, and I just nodded silently, the blush fading from my cheeks. It did make sense, after all. Although, him suddenly telling me the fact still had me a little surprised.

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" I asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Not sure yet. I usually spend at least two hours in this store looking through costumes and trying them all on in the dressing rooms upstairs, until I find the one that I can't ignore and have to get." Lavi said, not saying anything about the change in subject. I was glad. "It'll be fun picking out your costume. I'm still not really sure what to look for, though. I mean, you seem a little too innocent for anything really fun, and I don't feel like getting you some lame ass thing like a vampire costume or something."

"Innocent?" I asked, blinking in surprise. He thought I was innocent? "Innocent…innocent…Hehe…" I smiled coyly as I played with the word. "Say, Lavi, do you want to play a game of poker?"

"Uh…Allen, we're in the middle of a costume shop." Lavi pointed out. I looked up at him.

"Are you afraid?" I asked, crossing my arms. He was staring at me like I was some kind of alien.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I stepped closer to him, and he took a step back. "Allen, what'd I say?"

"Is anyone really innocent?" I asked. The mood had changed in a mere second, just from one little word that had my head spiraling with thoughts. "Is anyone really free of sin?"

"Allen, I think you need to calm down." Lavi continued, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking of all the times Master had made me gamble for him, or buy him his alcohol despite being under aged, or go and work for him when he had a debt to pay. Although these were not my sins, it had taught me how to win in any gambling situation and had taken away anything innocent left in me. My real sins, the ones that had truly corrupted me, were things that I could not think of without breaking down.

"I doubt you're very innocent, are you?" I asked. My question made Lavi's expression fall. The happiness was gone in an instant. A part of me cried out to stop, but I couldn't. That single word had made me go off. "I bet you've done plenty of things to others-"

"That's enough!" I jumped, so surprised that I even fell into the rack next to me, knocking a few of the clothes off in the process. I hadn't even noticed the clerk creeping closer. "You, young boy, need to take a time out." The words made me wonder if she thought I was five.

"Don't worry about it, Annabelle." Lavi's voice was softer than before, just barely a whisper, and his hand came into my vision. I looked up at him, and his face was composed. There was no smile this time. Had I done it this time? Had I offended him? A part of me wanted it, so that he would stop paying attention to me and I could go back to my old life of not caring, but I knew that I wanted things to continue. I had gone too far to go back now. I would fall apart.

"He needs to watch his mouth. He doesn't know a thing about you, this boy," Annabelle chided, and she swept her hair away from her face. Two milky white eyes were staring down at me, and a cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. A single picture flitted through my head as I stared into those eyes, and I quickly shut my eyes.

"And I don't know a thing about him," Lavi said. "It was my fault." Although his voice seemed almost dangerous with how soft it was, it was these words that reassured me that he would not be angry with me.

"You have too much to deal with to be dealing with a selfish boy like him, all the same." There was a long, tense silence, and when I opened my eyes again Lavi's hand was gone and the woman's eyes were once again covered by her hair.

"It's all right. He's not really selfish." Lavi said, and he looked down at me. "He's just guarded." I snapped my teeth together as I gained control over my mind again. Lavi held out his hand for me again, and I took it this time. As he helped me up, I made sure I had complete control over my temper.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, but not to Lavi. I would apologize to him later, when I understood the feelings that were running through me right now. His words were echoing in my head, and my stomach was twisting in knots. I wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it was a lot like being scared or nervous. Instead, I was turned towards the old lady, bowing my head. She was only a few inches shorter than me, which definitely said something about my height, considering it seemed she had a slightly hunched back. "It was rude of me to start something in your store, and I promise I won't do such a thing again. If I offended you in any way, please let me know."

There was a very long silence, and when I took the chance to look at the lady her crooked teeth were showing in a smile. "Apology accepted, young one. Although, I'm not so sure I'm the one you should be apologizing to." I wasn't sure how, but I had a feeling her eyes had moved from me to Lavi. I stood completely straight, turning to face Lavi, who looked back at me with the same blank, polite expression I knew I had on my face. Just from seeing it, I knew he would be patient and wait. I was thankful.

"So, think of a costume yet?" I asked, smiling. He smiled right back.

"Nope. Got a little distracted." He said. I laughed.

Half an hour later, Lavi's arms were full with costumes, and I was getting well on my way to full arms as well. We had spent the time in silence or talking about random things. Currently, we were discussing our previous Saturday at the club. "I still haven't brought the TV in for repair. Yuu really cracked the screen."

Last Saturday, Kanda had decided to take it upon himself to get unnecessarily angry, and had ended up smashing the wall in an attempt to attack me. All I had done was say he should sit next to Lenalee since she had a full couch to herself and Lavi had once again forced me to sit with him in the middle, where Kanda refused to sit, and the other couches had been completely taken up by the others. As a result, since I had jumped up and ran around trying to avoid him, he had run smack into the wall hard enough to make the TV fall off, cracking the screen and probably damaging some of the insides too.

Kanda and I had not gotten any closer since our encounter in the washroom two weeks ago, and he had yet to tell anyone of my arm, but I still tried to keep on his good side as much as possible in case he did. I had gotten a little worried on Saturday when he had gotten so angry, but it seemed he was more honorable than I had expected.

Talking about the TV brought on a different question, though. "Hey, Lavi? Why do we even have a fifty inch plasma for a school club?" I asked. Lavi laughed.

"Been wondering about that for a while, huh?" He asked. "It's not school property, so the other students can't really complain. The truth is, I brought it myself for some entertainment in a boring life."

"Isn't that sort of…drastic?" I asked, but Lavi just shrugged.

"Not really. I have plenty of them at the house." I stared at him blankly for a moment before giving a heavy sigh.

"I guess you forgot not everyone is extremely rich." I muttered, looking back at the current rack we were exploring.

"Well, no, I never forget. Most of the money I use is for activities for the club, I'll admit that, but our entire company puts tons of money into charity and supporting elder people and giving homeless people homes." Lavi said, shifting the things in his arms. I didn't say anything, and when it became clear that I wouldn't at all, Lavi changed the subject. "Want to start trying these things on? My arms are getting a little tired."

"Yeah, sure." I said quietly. "So are mine."

"Alright, so, everything on this arm is for you." Lavi said cheerily, gesturing to his right arm. "On the left is for me."

"You were able to keep that organized?" I asked.

"Yeah. You have all the other costumes for everyone else. I made sure to keep ours with me, because otherwise you would probably disorganize them completely." He explained shortly, and I glared at him, though he did have a point. He lead me to the stairs, and without even glancing at the shop keeper he headed up them. Hesitantly, I followed after him.

"Are you sure we're aloud up…here…?" my words drifted off when I saw the upper level. I had thought that this would be where the old woman lived, but I was wrong. Just like downstairs, all the walls were taken down, but unlike downstairs there was no extra room, and there was a whole wall taken up by dressing stalls, and directly across from it a mirror wall that you would see in dance studios. Directly across from the stairs was a wall with tons of shelves, all covered in wigs and other accessories, anything you could think of for necessary costumes needs. I was pretty sure I even saw a sword that looked suspiciously real. The entire floor was empty save for these things, with hardwood flooring.

"Yeah, sure. The old lady doesn't mind, after all, how else are we supposed to know which one we want?" Lavi asked, heading towards a dressing stall. He went inside, but didn't close the door. Instead he put down the contents of his right arm. He then went into the next stall, this time closing the door. I got the idea that I was supposed to go into the stall he had put the other costumes in.

Before I did, though, I headed towards the accessory shelves. On the lowest shelf, a great deal of necklaces laid on display, each one not looking like the normal plastic accessory that would come with a costume. I picked up one that looked like the Evening Star, from Lord of the Rings, and found that it was indeed not plastic or the usual dollar store metal, but was real crystal, the chain real silver.

"Lavi, are you sure these are just for costumes?" I asked absently, stroking the star.

"Yeah. Annabelle collects these really old items from all over the place and sells them here with her costumes, knowing they probably wouldn't get all that much use otherwise. She also looks around in catalogues and stuff to find Collector's Items on all the hot new fantasy stuff and buys them all, after making sure she has everything for the actual clothing of the character the accessory comes from. She's really good with her job, and it's really a pity not many people know about her. Of course, she says she doesn't _want_ to be known about. She likes her quiet little business in her quiet little town." Lavi's voice was muffled, and every now and then became strained from putting something on, but I could hear the compassion there.

"You really like her, huh?" I asked, putting the necklace back down. There was a long pause, a bit of scuffling, and then the stall he was in opened. Lavi came out looking almost exactly like a police officer. I stifled a laugh.

"What do you think?" Lavi asked, doing a comical pose as if he were holding a gun. I turned around, doing a quick scan on the wall until I found what I was looking for. Standing on my tip-toes, I grabbed the item and threw it at him. He caught it neatly, only vaguely surprising me (I had grown used to Lavi being good at things), and grinned. Now, he had a police baton to go with it.

"Very nice," I claimed. I applauded lightly to add to the effect, and he did a twirl. Instead of coming all the way around, he just went back into the stall and closed it.

"I don't think I like this one. It's too similar to my costume from when I was ten." He said from behind the door, and I raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, to answer your question, yes, I do like Annabelle. She knows a lot of stories about a lot of things. She's seen lots of stuff that you and I will never get to see our whole lives, and I love talking with her."

"How often do you come here?" I asked, turning back to the necklace shelf. Something had caught my eye.

"Once a year." Lavi said. "I told you, didn't I? I usually spend hours here picking out costumes. How do you think I was able to cope if I didn't have someone to talk to?"

"She seems to know a lot about you," I muttered. I was thinking of when she had been scolding me and had said that Lavi had too much to deal with to have to deal with a person like me. "Why's that?"

"Well, she's not the only one who talks." Lavi pointed out dully. I rolled my eyes. "I mean, because she's so old she doesn't really have a lot of breath to spare, so she has to take a break sometimes. I generally take over from there. Plus, she's good friends with the panda, so even though _I_ only see her once a year, Panda Bear sees her all the time."

"Who is this Panda?" I asked, although different questions were nagging me. Why hadn't she known about his friends? What did he talk about, then, if not them? What was going on in his life that would cause her to get so angry?

"My grandpa. I live with him." I picked up the item that had caught my attention, and bit my lip. It was forty dollars. I didn't even have five.

"Really? You don't seem to like him much." I said, staring at the item in wonder. The sound of a door swinging open caught my attention and, with the necklace still in my hands, I turned. Lavi was now dressed as a Ringleader for a circus, wearing an extremely long top hat. I grinned. "Nice."

"Thanks. I like it." Lavi replied as he looked in the mirrors across from him. "As for the Panda, it's sort of a love-hate relationship. I owe the old man a lot, all things considered, but man is he ever strict! See, technically he adopted me. My parents died when I was a toddler, and he took me in. We're not actually related in any other way than the fact that he's good friends with the Noahs, which is where my parents are _both_ descended from. Honestly, I don't know if I should be sad or glad that they died, because if they had survived I would have been raised in a completely different manner.

"Anyways, after the Panda took me in he started to distance himself from the Noahs. I don't know if it was for my sake or if it was for a completely different reason, but it made him more of a pole than he already is. He started getting me ready to take over for him, and until last year I didn't have a speck of free time because he was so rigid with his training. Now, my new training is communicating with others, so we started up that club.

"The whole thing was actually the Panda's idea, and he even set it up with the school and everything. He probably knew I wouldn't do it on my own." Lavi took a deep breath, and looked at me. "Which is where you come in."

"Me?" I asked, a little surprised to be mentioned. I had been listening so intently to his explanation of the past (though I could tell it was an extremely vague outline that had a great deal of things missing from it) that I had completely forgotten where we were, and that I was even a part of this conversation.

"Yeah. Well, technically, it's where everyone in the club comes in. You like that thing, huh?" Lavi gestured to the necklace in my hands, which I had also forgotten about, and I blushed. Quickly, I turned around and put the necklace back.

"I was just looking," I muttered. Lavi's footsteps sounded, but he wasn't heading for the stall again. He came beside me, peering down curiously at the shelf with the necklaces.

"It's a nice one," he said. "Definitely suits you, too. How much is it?"

"Forty dollars." I muttered. "I don't have that money, so there's no point in thinking about it."

"You could always-"

"There's nothing I can do about it. If I were to get a job, any money I had would go to the house and supporting Master. I would never have forty bucks to spare." I said shortly, cutting him off. "I'll go and try on some costumes."

"Alright…" Lavi said, and I walked off towards the stall he had put my costumes in. His footsteps followed soon after, though he seemed to have paused before following me.

("…")

Well, that just about does it." Lavi said cheerily, putting the last discarded costume onto its proper rack. "We have all the costumes we need, and it's already almost three. Want to go out for lunch?"

"No, it's all good." I said, smiling. "I don't have any money."

"I do, though." Lavi replied pointedly. "I don't mind paying for you. My treat."

"Well…" I bit my lip, thinking it over carefully, before realizing I may as well take advantage of the opportunity. After all, he had plenty money to spare, didn't he? "Alright."

"It's settled, then! Here, Annabelle." Lavi placed the costumes we were purchasing onto the counter, which we had just reached. He turned to me, taking my attention away from the counter as Annabelle began to add up the prices, lacking a scanner. "So, what do you want?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.

"Chinese, Greek, Italian, Western…what kind of food do you want?" Lavi asked.

"Uh…Chinese sounds good." I shrugged deftly. After all, it had been a while since I had had Chinese food. Thinking of the buffet almost made me drool.

"Great, Chinese it is. I know where there's a good one in town, too." Lavi said cheerily, clapping his hands together.

"$184.32," Annabelle suddenly said, and I jumped. That much?

"Alright," Lavi said, as if he weren't paying almost two-hundred dollars for costumes that would only be used once. He pulled out two hundred dollar bills, and handed them to Annabelle. "Keep the change."

"Of course, Lavi. Take care this year." She said, taking both bills and putting them in a drawer in the desk. "Oh yes, Lavi dear? Could you go and grab me a black sash from upstairs? I'm afraid I'm getting the chills, and I forgot to bring along a jacket." I was a little surprised she was so easily able to ask Lavi to do something for her, but he was gone in an instant. Annabelle began to pack away the costumes in bags carefully. "Young boy, I do hope you don't hurt him."

"Pardon?" I asked, shocked. I stared down at the old lady, and she placed her hands neatly on top of the bag she was currently filling.

"I mean to say that he has put much trust in you. Never before has Lavi even spoken of friends, not even that boy Kanda. For him to have brought you here, and to have stood up for you like that, it means that you are special. He doesn't confide in people much, and I am one of two people he has ever done such a thing with. As an old lady, I will not always be there for him, and as such he needs someone other than a cold boy who cannot express his feelings properly. I believe that you may be the one who can save Lavi." I stared at her blankly, wondering what she meant by saving, while trying to understand what she was saying about me.

"Are you saying…I'm like a guardian angel or something?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. The old lady smiled.

"I suppose you could say such a thing, but just by looking at your eye I can tell that you have much on your own shoulders. I would guess that the two of you will support each other." She said no more, as Lavi came down the stairs, and proceeded in putting the costumes into bags.

"So, we all ready?" Lavi asked as he handed the old lady a long black cloak. "Sorry I couldn't find a sash. Besides, that should keep you warmer."

"Thank you dear. Here you are, and be off with you. I can hear your stomachs moaning." She shooed us off, handing us our bags, and we waved goodbye.

("…")

"Allen, you really do eat a lot." Lavi said, watching me as I shoved another egg roll into my mouth. I was on my third plate of food from the buffet, and I was half finished it.

"I'm hungry," I said over the food. Lavi just winced, wiping off a piece of food from his cheek, which had flown from my mouth. I blushed, closing my mouth securely.

"Well, eat up, I guess." He said, putting another piece of pork into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. After swallowing, he looked at me again, though I was busy shoving more of the greasy fried food into my mouth. "You know, Annabelle was pretty interested in you." I gagged, food flying out of my mouth and onto the half-eaten plate. Coughing, tears beginning to come out of my eyes from it, I looked up at him.

"What makes you say that?" I gasped.

"Well, she kept on looking at you." Lavi replied. How was he able to tell when she had all that hair there? "Plus, I know she sent me upstairs to talk to you. What'd she say?" I gagged again.

"Lavi, has anyone ever told you you're too perceiving?"

("…")

I sighed, thankful the day was over. Without taking anything off, I flopped onto my bed. Lavi had just dropped me off, after a very long two hours of trying to pry out of me what Annabelle had said, and I had gone straight upstairs. Master didn't even have a chance to ask me where I was all day, and what I had been doing.

I was closing my eyes when the door slammed open, and I sat up with a start. Master stood there, his cheeks red and a wine bottle in one hand. "When did you get back?"

"You came in here without knowing I was here?" I asked, and he grunted. "I got back a couple of minutes ago."

"Well, there's something on the doorway…porch…thing…" He paused. "That thing. Open the door. Anyways, it's for you, cause I don't think a stupid costume like that would be for me."

"Costume?" I asked, and looked around my room. I smacked my forehead. I had forgotten to grab my costume (though admittedly it was a little embarrassing). Lavi had probably left it on the door, though I wasn't sure why he hadn't just come inside and given it to me. getting up, I walked past Master (who was now leaning against the wall looking ready to pass out) and headed down the stairs.

Master had left the door wide open, not even bringing the bag inside. Rolling my eyes and sighing at his idiocy, I picked the bag up and closed the door. I was just going to bring it upstairs and throw it in my closet until Halloween, but something jingled inside. I paused. My costume wasn't supposed to make that sound. Cautiously, I dug around inside until my fingers caught a fine chain, and I pulled out a silver chained necklace with a silver crescent moon and a golden sun together, like night and day.

It was the necklace I had found in the store.

End Chapter

Happy tenth chapter!

I didn't know how to end this one, so I just ended it with Allen getting the necklace he had found in the store. As for the brief scene in the restaurant, it was just…sort of…there. Yeah. Anyways, we're getting closer to the Halloween party. It's next chapter, so this is the last chance to give suggestions for costumes. I purposefully didn't say anything about their costumes just in case someone gave me a better idea than what I have (which actually is no idea at the moment).

This chapter was sort of difficult to write, because a _lot_ has been going on lately, so I hope it's not disappointing or anything. Review please!


	11. A Party To Die For

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Chapter 11: A Party To Die For

_Mana always said that life needed to be lived at its fullest. Allen always tried his best to live up to this. At the zoo, he didn't waste a single minute, even when he was stuck with Master while Mana was off doing something else. Allen didn't spend a single moment moping or being bored, and always made sure he had something to do._

_However, Allen was starting to falter. His mind was being taken up by gruesome pictures instead of funny monkeys or sly snakes. When he ate ice cream, he was imagining the insides of people. That book had been ruining his thought process for the past two days, and had ruined his fun. "Allen, stop zoning out."_

_"Huh?" Allen looked up, surprised. "Sorry, was just thinking."_

_"Come on, we're going back home now." Allen just nodded, looking back one last time before following Master into the car._

* * *

I felt sorry for Kanda. I mean, Lavi refused to tell him what his costume was no matter how many times he asked, and every single time he got the answer 'just wait' Kanda seemed to be imagining more and more horrible things about what he would be forced to wear. Honestly, though, his costume wasn't all that bad considering some of the things Lavi had had in mind.

However, Lavi was content telling everyone else what they would be for Halloween, and most of them didn't have a problem with it. Lenalee was also fine with her costume, which was a relief. Lavi had been worrying about her the most. After all, I had been a little disapproving myself when he had shown me his idea for her.

When Lavi had shown me the costumes, I had suddenly realized that two hundred dollars for all of them when they were so authentic was pretty cheap. He then proceeded in telling me that Annabelle basically cut every price in half, since she knew what it was like to be poor, and also had a tendency to give Lavi many discounts even though he told her not to. I understood after that, but I asked him about the necklace.

"That was full price." He said, while casually flipping through a book. We were in his homeroom for lunch, for some reason not known to me. He was scribbling things down on a piece of paper as he skimmed through the book he had, so I imagined he was late with some homework. "It was already only forty percent of the original price, so I didn't expect Annabelle to make it any cheaper."

I hadn't taken the necklace off since I had found it in my costume bag. I would play with it every day, and soon it felt like it was just a normal part of me. No one asked me where it came from when I had gone to school with it on Monday, and Lavi hadn't commented. In fact, this was the first time I had brought it up. Speaking of it, I lifted the necklace, staring at it curiously. For some reason, it entranced me.

"Thank you." I whispered. Lavi looked up from his book, looking surprised.

"No prob-" his sentence went unfinished as someone slammed something onto the desk I was sitting at. Jumping, I turned around in slight fear, not surprised at all to see Kanda there.

"Get out of my seat." He snapped, and I nodded, obliging eagerly. I slipped instead into the desk on the left of Lavi. Kanda looked more angry than usual, pulling his bag onto the desk and pulling out the same book as Lavi, and I saw that it had been his binder that had been slammed mercilessly. Kanda turned to Lavi. "What the hell are we learning today?" he snapped.

"I'm not finished yet." Lavi said calmly, not at all effected by the angry boy.

"Well then hurry up! I don't feel like waiting all day for the teacher to finish his stupid lesson before I can get the homework done." Their conversation confused me, and I tried to reconsider exactly what Lavi was doing.

"Well I'm afraid you will just have to be patient. I'm not aloud to show anyone the lesson plans." Lavi replied, not even the faintest bit fazed.

"Listen here, rabbi-"

"You're writing out the lessons?" I asked, interrupting Kanda. He looked at me with a murderous glare and I quickly looked away.

"Yep, since I know this book better than the teacher does." Lavi replied, waving the book in my face. I blinked a few times to get the title in focus, and then stared at Lavi in surprise.

"How could you possibly know a book like that better than the teacher?" I asked, and Lavi shrugged.

"It was one of the books the old man told me to memorize, so I did. Of course, I didn't memorize everything, like what page certain things are on or the exact wording of a few sentences…which is why I need the book." Lavi gave me a smile that said this was normal, but I couldn't see how. Exactly what was Lavi's home life like?

"Enough talking! I need the god damn homework." Kanda snapped, and Lavi winced, turning to look at the feminine boy.

"Now, now, Yuu. Don't be in such a fuss. Things like this can take time when in the company of others." Lavi leaned forward, and placed a hand on top of Kanda's head, stroking the hair there. For a moment I thought Kanda was going to lose it, but was extremely surprised when he just raised his arm and did a casual flick of the wrist to knock Lavi's hand off before closing his eyes and turning around. Had I missed something?

"Keh. How many more questions need to be done?" he asked tensely, and in a quiet voice, leaning forward on his desk and resting his head on his arms.

"About four more in order to meet the teacher's criteria. He asked for quite a few this time." Lavi said gently, his voice just as hushed as Kanda's. Something had just happened, and I had no idea what it was. Had Lavi said something? Had Kanda done something? I felt suddenly like an intruder, instead of the one who had been dragged into this classroom.

"Humph." It was an extremely childish thing, and a bit surprising for Kanda to do, to make such a noise. There was silence then, only broken by the noises from the people in the halls or outside (though there were very few people out there, it was raining so hard), and by the occasional scratch of Lavi's pen as he continued writing down questions.

"Allen, what are you doing tonight?" Lavi asked after a while, surprising me. I hadn't realized I had been staring at him this whole time, and now that he was looking straight at me I couldn't help but be aware of it. My cheeks slightly flushed, I looked down and stood up. How was he able to talk to me so normally, even though he caught me doing all of these embarrassing things? How was he able to act as if Kanda wasn't there?

"I need to go to the washroom," I muttered. Lavi reached out as I passed, but I evaded his hand and hurried out of the classroom. Once in the halls, I broke into a light jog, heading for the nearest washroom.

I didn't actually need to do anything in the washroom, but at that moment something odd had happened. My heart beat had accelerated, and my stomach had fluttered. My cheeks had flared up and I felt way too self conscious. How had all of that happened just because I had been looking at him? It was normal to find oneself daydreaming while looking somewhere randomly and then coming to while looking at a person.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I slipped off my gloves and leaned over the sink bowl. I stared at my left hand, dead and yet still alive, my permanent reminder of my past. Wincing, I covered the hand with my normal one, viewing the contrast there. Images I had tried so hard to forget resurfaced, and I closed my eyes tightly to try and ward them off.

The moment I closed my eyes a different image came to my head. It was much more recent, and for some reason so distracting that everything from my past washed away instantly. It wasn't necessarily a very fascinating memory, nor was it exciting, but it still made me so curious and on edge, and some other feeling that I could not describe.

There, in my head, was a frozen picture of Lavi and Kanda, as Lavi leaned over and stroked Kanda's hair. Frozen still as it was, it was not hard to notice the look in Lavi's eyes. Content, yet serious. So full of so many different emotions that I could not understand how they were all going on inside of one person.

A sudden pain in my hand brought me back to where I was. I was surprised to find my right hand was clenched tightly around my left, to the point where it probably would have turned blue if it were normal. Letting go, I turned on the tap and waited, refusing to look up into my reflection, afraid to see what was there.

When I was satisfied and had washed my face, I turned the tap off and slipped on my gloves, just in time for two boys to come in, talking loudly while waving to a couple of girls in the hall. When they saw me, they gave a small nod and continued on to the urinals. I took my leave then, passing the two girls that were now standing outside the door waiting.

When I reached the classroom again, I hesitated. Was I really ready to go back in? Though the door was open, it was easy to stay out of view, and I used this to my advantage to slap my face a bit and make sure I looked relatively happy. I probably looked ridiculous to any passer by. As I was about to go in, the sound of Lavi and Kanda talking made me stop again.

"…He really is something," came Lavi's voice.

"I don't like him. He has too many secrets." Was Kanda's reply, and I furrowed my brow. Were they talking about one of the Noahs?

"Everyone has secrets, Yuu. You know that as well as I do. After all, no one lives a life free of sin." They couldn't possibly be talking about one of the Noahs if Lavi was trying to defend them… "Allen just needs some time to open up is all. It's only been a month and a half. You should stop being so hard on him."

"Keh. The stupid bean sprout needs someone to show him the way things really are. Every one else is babying him." It felt like my heart had skipped a beat. They were talking about me? "Besides that, he's not good for you. You have more to be worrying about than that stupid brat. He's a nuisance and you know it, so why are you wasting your time on him? He's just a selfish, know-it-all cry baby."

Why was everyone saying I was bad for Lavi? What had I done? What was so bad in Lavi's life that I could be making worse when I didn't even know anything about him?…I didn't know anything about him. For some reason, these words made me feel hollow. After all this time, I still knew nothing about the mysterious Lavi. I could only pick up habits or predict when he would get silly, but other than that…

"Allen's been through plenty as well. He needs just as much help as you or I do." Lavi's voice sounded a little cold as he said this, and Kanda scoffed.

"How can you tell? Because of a tattooed eye and a few painful expressions? How do you know the brat isn't faking it all?" He snapped. "The kid probably just has a case of depression or something, or some kind of need for attention." That wasn't true. I didn't want anyone to notice me. I had no desire for attention. And yet…

When it was Lavi, I only wanted his attention.

"If I remember correctly, you wanted attention too, when you were younger." Lavi's voice was more gentle this time, almost caring.

"All kids want attention." Kanda replied, but there was something in his voice that was different. He sounded like he had just lost a fight. Something told me he had.

"And I gave you the attention you wanted. I've always been there for you." There was a long pause, and I could feel the tension even from here. I felt like my heart was going to give me away.

"Keh. Wasn't it the other way around?" I couldn't take it anymore. Closing my eyes, I turned and walked off. I wasn't sure if I made my footsteps obvious or not, but no one came after me.

I didn't see Lavi again at all that day, and was half expecting to see him outside when the bell rang for the end of last class, but was still unsurprised when I didn't see him. I did, however, see Kanda, but he just brushed past me.

That night, I felt oddly stiff, and for the first time in a long time I was feeling as dead and uncaring as I had only a few weeks ago. It was odd, feeling this way again, but I welcomed it nonetheless. Things were easier in this dead state. Master noticed. "Oi, idiot boy, did your friends ditch you today?"

"Do you need anything tonight?" I asked, ignoring the question.

"Keh. Yeah, I need a bottle of red wine. You know what kind." He muttered, digging in his pocket and pulling out a twenty. I took it without a word, and felt his eyes on me as I put my shoes on and walked out the door. What happened next, I'm not sure if I can describe the surprise I felt when I walked into a solid body, belonging to the last person I had ever expected to see on my front doorstep.

Kanda shoved me back, his face colder than I had ever seen it, and I stammered as I stared up at him, completely at a loss as to what to do.

"What's wrong with you?" He snapped. I just shook my head, quickly shutting my mouth and counting to five in my head. As soon as I had control over my thought process again, I spoke up.

"What the hell are you doing at my house?" I asked, though I was sure to keep quiet. I didn't want Master to come up and ask why I had people over during a school night when it was this dark out, though I wasn't sure I could say Kanda was my friend.

"I wanted to talk." Suddenly, the cold expression was replaced by nervousness, and a hint of red appeared in Kanda's cheeks. If it was possible, I was more surprised. I heard Master heading over, and shoved Kanda out of the way, closing the door quickly behind me. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Shh!" I snapped, taking his wrist and pulling him away from the house, praying Master didn't open the door to see what was going on. When we were outside the gate, I released my hold on Kanda, and then, realizing what I had done, felt the blood rush from my face. I was about to say sorry, or some other method of trying to make Kanda forgive me, but when I saw his face I stopped. "I…uh…need to go and get something for my…err…yeah."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Kanda asked, glaring down at me. I swallowed nervously.

"I…uh…" I didn't know what to say. My usual ability to stand up to Kanda was gone, out the window. It had left when I had seen him with Lavi. I felt like it was impossible to stand up to this person now, who was so great that he could actually be called Lavi's friend. Whereas I knew nothing.

"Whatever. I'll come with you." I blinked in surprise as Kanda began walking off, and it took me a moment to realize he had gone in the wrong direction.

"Uh…" I didn't want to correct him, but if we went the way he wanted to go then there would be no point in going. "I need to go that way…"

"Tch. I knew that." Kanda muttered, pivoting and heading in the correct direction. I almost smiled, if it weren't for the fear of being killed if I did. As I followed silently behind him (how he got to be in the lead, I had no clue), I marveled at what could have possibly brought this on. Kanda said nothing except for when he was confirming our direction (when I would again wonder why he was in the lead), and I did nothing to make him talk.

"Here." I muttered, and he came to a stop. He looked almost as surprised as I had felt when I had walked into him, his eyes like saucers. I slipped past him, going into the wine store.

It took him a minute to follow me, and he looked nervous as he walked around the wine store with me. It was odd to see any kind of vulnerability on Kanda's face, and a little refreshing. It was nice to know that this person who seemed so stoic and cold was actually still human. "Is this really okay?" He whispered, his voice a lot less cold now that he was in a situation like this. On the inside, I was quietly rejoicing.

"I do it all the time. It's not for me." I replied just as quietly. Kanda looked a little disbelieving, but said nothing more. I found and grabbed the correct bottle of wine, and went to the counter, Kanda following behind me like a shadow, a nervous wreck that for once looked like a normal teenaged boy about to do something he had been beaten into knowing was not aloud. I reached the counter with a smile on my face, the man there looking at me with a frown. He was new here, since I had never seen him before. "Hello, sir."

"ID." He didn't say anything else, he wasn't polite about it, and I didn't mind at all. By now, most of the clerks just gave me what I wanted and were used to my appearance, but I knew this would not be the case with this man. Preparing myself, I pulled my face into a tragic look, making sure to duck my head and never meet his eyes.

"Well, you see…"

**Ten Minutes Later**

"…and…and…" as the fake tear rolled down my cheek, the clerk grabbed a tissue and wiped at his eye. Kanda was staring at me in pure shock, his mouth hanging open. I wanted to comment on this, but in order to keep my façade I continued to hug myself and look as sad as possible.

"That's terrible…cigarette burns, sex toys…alright, if it saves you for one more night…" the man put the tissue in his pocket and scanned the bottle of wine. I pulled the twenty out, feeling proud of another successful rant, and paid happily, giving the man a bright smile. I think the sudden change in my attitude caught him a little off guard, but I didn't give him time to think it over.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much you've saved me!" I said and skipped out of the store. Kanda followed soon after, his eyes never leaving me. When we were well away from the store, I relaxed, allowing my face to fall back into the monotone.

"All of that stuff you just said…" Kanda muttered, walking directly beside me this time.

"None of it was true," I said calmly. My voice was an odd contrast, deeper when I wasn't trying to illegally buy alcohol for a raging redheaded lion.

"Did you make all of that up?" Kanda asked. I looked at him with a pointed look, and he rolled his eyes, his usual cold self returning. "I meant as you were saying it." He snapped, as if this were supposed to be obvious. I had known this was what he had meant, but I felt like playing with him. I usually got a little cocky after successful rants.

"No. I did once, but since then I've used the same one. The only time I used a different one was when it was a really old, really tough looking guy who looked like he would do all of the things I said Master did. So instead I just pretended to be some punk ass kid who was in a pinch and needed alcohol if I didn't want to be booted out of my gang." This actually was true. The guy had actually sympathized with me and given me two more bottles for free, too.

"You're a messed up kid." Kanda said, giving his trademark scoff. I just grinned.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked. I was brought back to this afternoon, listening in on their conversation, and immediately the cockiness went away. I suddenly had a suspicion that Kanda was planning on telling me to leave Lavi alone and never speak to him again. However, this was a little too dramatic, especially for Kanda.

"What is Lavi to you?" The question stopped me short. I faltered in my footing and nearly fell over if it weren't for Kanda's firm grip suddenly being on my shoulder.

"What is…Lavi to me?" I whispered, feelings running through me that I couldn't understand. There were too many of them at once, and I couldn't tell what they all meant. I wasn't sure what I felt, but at the same time I think I did, I just wasn't able to accept it. "Lavi…is my friend…"

"If he was just a normal friend, you wouldn't have that kind of reaction." Kanda said calmly. I looked up, and no coldness was there, like it had all melted away. He stared down at me with an almost pitying look, as if he knew what every feeling running through me was at that moment. Why was he giving me that look? "Lavi likes you. He wants to be called your friend, and he wants to say the same for you. Usually, he gives up after a week, either leaving the person alone or getting bored of them, but it's already been a month and a half since he started pursuing you.

"What I don't get, is why you put up with him even though you know he's making you do all these things for his amusement. Why do you hang on his every word even though you know half of it is lies? Why do you always interest him more, and become someone so different for him when we only get the Allen that smiles politely? Why do you draw him closer and closer to you, and yet he grows farther…" here, he stopped. I don't think he was able to go on. It was amazing, hearing these things come out of Kanda's mouth and yet he was still able to keep such a calm expression. His voice didn't falter once, not even on the last word. He was someone who could be looked up to for the feats he pulled. At least, to me he was.

"I don't…" I couldn't figure out the way I could explain to Kanda that I wasn't trying to do this, that I hadn't even noticed this, that I never paid attention to the way I acted around Lavi or the others. There were no words that I could use that didn't make me sound like an oblivious fool or a liar (although admittedly I was pretty oblivious).

"Keh. You really are an idiot." He snapped, his cold mask once again appearing. Seeing it again actually made me feel relieved. I felt like it was possible to hate him again. Whenever Lavi was the topic, it was like it was impossible to hate Kanda, if only because Lavi loved him so much (or at least I assumed Lavi loved him).

"Look who's talking." I snapped back, pulling myself together. He glared down at me, and I held back a swallow. "Is that really the only reason the almighty Kanda came all the way to my house for?"

"Well…" I was starting to find it amusing how his face kept on changing tonight. Once again he looked nervous and with a hint of red in his cheeks. I think I liked this expression. It showed that he at least had one weakness. "I want to know what my costume is."

"Seriously?" I asked, raising both eyebrows and staring at him incredulously. His costume? I smiled, the surprise being replaced by a giddy feeling. "Sorry, no can do. Sworn to secrecy." There was a moment where I thought he was going to pound me, but it was replaced by a glare and a cold smirk.

"Keh, and after I kept your secret for so long. I wonder what Lavi would think." My cheeks reddened, and I backed away.

"N-no way!" I snapped, "You wouldn't tell him!"

"Only unless you tell me what the costume is." He said slowly, like cruel torture. I cursed him for being in the washroom that day.

"F-fine!" I snapped, and clenched my fists. I inched closer to him, standing on my toes to reach his ear, and whispered.

("…")

"Hello, Allen!"

I groaned, tempted to throw the door shut and block the too cheerful face from my view. I was too tired, and it was too early in the morning, to deal with Lavi. However, I held back the temptation and instead walked back inside the house and into the kitchen to my unfinished cereal. Last night I had had to stay up with Master as he drank, forcing me to play cards with him and clean up after his messes. It hadn't left me in the happiest of moods, to say the least.

I heard Lavi's footsteps as he followed me inside. Apparently, he wasn't going to be so courteous this time. When I glanced at the clock on the stove, I was surprised to see that Lavi was actually a half an hour earlier than usual. Him even being here was a bit of a surprise though, after yesterday. I hadn't been expecting him to come around any time soon. However, he told me the reason he was here as soon as we were in the kitchen and I was eating my cereal again.

"So, we'll be skipping school today to go over to Yuu's house. We have to get everything prepared by five and Yuu hasn't even asked the maids to start cleaning yet…" I winced when he said this so casually. Of course Yuu would have maids, and probably a butler and a cook and a personal gardener…he probably even had them all living there with him, too. "I came to get you, since you'd take forever on your own or just not show up if I called you or something. Plus, Fou's not up for the job…"

"Lavi." I muttered. There was a very long silence, in which I knew Lavi was respecting my unspoken wish to not talk about Fou, and after I had finished my cereal I looked over at him. I was expecting him to be looking around or something, but he was staring directly at me, a little lower than my face. My cheeks flushed when I remembered I was only wearing a pair of boxers and an opened button-up white dress shirt. "What are you looking at?"

"Your necklace," he said innocently, but looked away quickly. He had a sly smile on his face, and I was brought back to our conversation on the weekend.

"I don't mind. I mean, I am open minded."

My blush crept further up my face. "I'm going to get dressed." I muttered, shoving off my chair and heading for the door.

"Can I come, too?" He asked eagerly, suddenly alert and next to me. He seemed a little too excited, with a too-enthusiastic shine in his eyes, and I was beginning to wonder if I was just being paranoid.

"No." I said, going past him for the stairs. When I looked back on the first step, I nearly fell backwards when I saw he was directly behind me, maybe a few inches away.

"Come on, please?" he begged, pulling his face into a pout. I swallowed, suddenly much more awake. "I want to see Allen's room!"

"F-fine, but you can at least let me change…" but as soon as the words were out of my mouth Lavi was rushing up the steps two at a time. Wearily, I followed after him, although much slower. When I reached the top, I found him peering into the bathroom. "What're you doing?"

"I'm looking for your room." Lavi replied, shutting the bathroom door and heading for the door at the end of the hall, which was mine. When he opened it, he let out a little cheer. "This must be it, right?"

"Yeah." I muttered, pushing past the too-enthusiastic rabbit. "Please try to be quiet. Master's sleeping." I sighed, a little exasperated. Why did it have to be so early? Grabbing jeans and a black t-shirt, I threw them on the bed and shuffled into the closet, searching for socks and clean boxers. I could feel Lavi's eyes on me the whole time, and I was starting to feel really self-conscious.

"You've got a really plain room." Lavi said, and I paused in my searching. Peering past my wardrobe of clothes to look at him, I noticed he was still only looking at me. "You should paint it some nice color – like green. I think green would suit you. I can help, if you'd like. We can do it this weekend, even."

"For one, how do you know I'm not busy?" I wasn't. "For two, don't go mixing me up with you." After all, green was his color. "And besides that, I don't have any money for silly projects like painting my room, and I'd have to get permission from Master, who'd have to get permission from the landlord, who's in Disneyland with his family for the next week. So it's impossible anyways." I had resumed my search. My closet really was a mess now, compared to a couple months ago.

"I'll pay for it." He sounded so casual, like no one in the world had money problems or was dying of disease or suffering from something else. "And if the landlord says anything about it, let me know."

"I don't want you paying for everything for me," I snapped, finally finding everything I needed. Now a little angry, I threw the items on my bed harshly and faced Lavi. "I'm not some sap who needs money and begs for things off my friends all the time. That kind of thing disgusts me."

"Allen…" the way he said my name, it was like I was five again. Except when I was five, I was an orphan, roaming the streets of a lonely city that didn't treat strays very nicely. The memory made me wince. I wasn't sure if Lavi noticed. "I'm offering this to you, not feeling sorry for you because you're poor. I know you would never just ask for my money or use me, you're not that kind of person, but I want to give you stuff. I'm your friend…aren't I?"

"I just wanted to know…what do you think of me, Allen? As a person…as a friend."

I wasn't sure how he could possibly think otherwise. I remembered Kanda's words, how he had said Lavi just wanted to be called my friend. Was it true, then? "Yeah…" I muttered, hanging my head. He was so frustrating. I wanted to know more about him, in hopes that maybe I would actually understand a little more, instead of being left in the dark. Maybe then…_It wouldn't be so frustrating._

"Thanks." He muttered. It was awkward after that. I just stood there in the middle of the room, fidgeting nervously, playing with the tips of the worn out gloves I had put on first thing in the morning. It had become a sort of habit, what with Fou and Lavi coming over so frequently so early. "So…you want me to leave the room so you can change?"

"Huh?" I blinked, snapping out of my blank state of daydreaming, and looked at the clothes that had been thrown on the bed. "Oh, yeah…yeah, you can wait in the living room. I'll be down in a minute."

When the door shut behind Lavi with a deliberate click, I dressed faster than I had in years.

("…")

"Watch out!"

A loud bang sounded throughout the huge entrance room of Kanda's house. On the floor (where I wasn't, thankfully) Lavi and Lenalee had just narrowly avoided being squashed by a huge plastic pumpkin. Fou and Daisya were looking down guiltily at them from the ladder that was just below the chandelier, where the pumpkin was supposed to go. From the opposite side of the room, in once of many doors, Kanda cussed.

"That better not have left a scratch on the floor, or my mom's going to kill me!" An image of his kind mother and cold father entered my mind, and for a moment I couldn't help but think that I had seen Kanda's father somewhere else. I had a vague image of running somewhere…

"Now, now, Yuu…" but Kanda silenced Lavi with a harsh glare. It was clear he was still livid about his costume (which he was still going to wear). I had never seen Lavi so obedient before this morning (and it was now well into the afternoon) towards anyone.

When we had first arrived, Kanda had opened the door, and as soon as he saw Lavi his face had become positively dark. He hadn't even said anything, he had just taken Lavi by his collar and dragged him in the house, the door closing mysteriously hard afterwards, leaving me alone with a bag of costumes on the front step. Lenalee had timidly opened the door a minute later, a sympathetic look on her face, which was apparent was not for me but for Lavi, considering the screams of agony coming from behind her. It had been exactly like out of a movie or a cartoon.

After that, Lavi had become oddly silent, and had taken to avoiding me. He was probably angry because I had been the one to tell Kanda what his costume was. I still didn't see what was so wrong about it, except for the cat ears. According to Lavi, Kanda had been forced into much worse (only last year he had been a princess, but luckily no one had recognized him and Lavi had allowed him to change after a couple of hours).

And now, I was hanging black streamers along the walls, standing precariously on a ladder ten feet above the ground. The ceiling was still somewhere around ten to fifteen feet higher than where my head was. It was like a ballroom or something. "Allen, could you come help me with this?"

I was about to oblige with Lenalee's request, but at the same time both Fou and Lavi stood rigid, saying "No, it's fine." I stopped where I was, staring at the two of them, unsure of what to do. I could feel a tight lump in my throat. Lenalee suddenly looked worried, staring from Lavi to Fou as they avoided looking my way, Lavi just standing there while Fou began climbing down the ladder to help pick up the pumpkin. My eyes strayed to Kanda, who was glaring at me suspiciously, and then to Daisya, who was giving me a look that seemed to say 'hah, you lost your position as favorite, what're you going to do now?'

What _was_ I going to do now? Silently, I brought myself back up the ladder, but the streamers were too far for my reach now to continue without moving the ladder. With a sigh, hiding the sudden pain I felt from the prying eyes, I descended the ladder. Were they still staring at me? as quietly as possible, I moved the ladder over a couple of feet.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and as I prepared to tell Lenalee I was fine I was surprised when a completely different, maybe even more familiar, hand grasped my shoulder. "Allen." how often had he said my name like that today? I turned, facing Lavi with the most obvious fake smile I could give. Over his shoulder, everyone was watching us. Lavi's hand fell back to his side.

"Yes, Lavi?" I asked in a sickly sweet voice, the same pitch I used when I tricked clerks into letting me buy wine. Kanda seemed to noticed this, too, from the way he winced.

"Next time Yuu blackmails you, give me a little warning, or I'll be forced to put you through whatever torture Yuu made me go through." He said, giving me a creepy grin that said he was completely serious. I wasn't sure I should be relieved he was talking to me again, or creeped out by the way his smile was twitching. "Understand?"

"O-okay." I squeaked. My defenses had been completely taken down for one reason: Lavi was scarier than Kanda. He was more cheerful and buoyant and fun to hang out with, but when he was angry, I wasn't sure if even Master could sum up to him. After all, my legs were shaking just from a warning and a creepy smile.

"Good! On another note, let's get that costume on you!" He clapped my arm a little too hard, and I had a feeling this was the real reason he had 'made amends'. I don't think he had actually forgiven me yet. He turned from me, facing everyone else. "Come on, you too!" He said, waving his hands around impatiently. Everyone groaned as one, and Lavi handed out costumes from his bag.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was standing in the entrance hall with their costumes on, including the Noahs and Marie, who had all been in different rooms preparing them. A good smell was coming from somewhere in the house, and I wondered if Kanda really did have a personal cook. The front room remained not fully decorated, but the only things left undone were the streamers and the Pumpkin Chandelier. I wondered if I would be able to do the streamers in this outfit.

I was a 'white knight', but lacking the armor, since Lavi said I looked better without it. In the end, I looked more like a prince or a nobleman. I wore a white blouse, with a white vest embroidered with silver overtop, and a pair of white leggings adorned my legs. From lack of proper leather shoes, I was wearing average hiking boots. At my side was the sword I had seen in Annabelle's store (which was actually made of a really hard plastic with silver paint).

Lavi, on the other hand, was dressed as a videogame character. Personally, I only recognized him because I had played Kingdom Hearts II for a couple of hours on a bored night recently (at Lavi's request, who supplied me with the game and the game system, which I was pretty sure was the reason why). He was dressed as Vivi, although much…prettier. Plus, I was able to see his face.

Vivi dressed in a long (for his body) light blue jacket, with a pair of mahogany leather gloves and a pair of boots the same color. For pants, they were almost like a clown's, teal and white striped and extremely puffy, held up by a leather belt the same color as the boots and gloves. His witch's hat was a faded brown, stitched up in some places and with a leather band around the top once again a deep mahogany.

Lavi didn't quite fit all the requirements, as it was impossible to shrink, had yellow eyes, and have no face, or have an android type voice and actually have magical abilities, but he still cut it pretty close. He even had a magic staff, a knobby thing with a twisted spiral end. It looked like Lavi had hand carved it himself, because I was sure he hadn't bought it at the Halloween store. He didn't, however, take off the eye patch. I wanted to ask him about it, but I held my tongue.

Lenalee was a sight to behold. Her long hair was still in the usual pigtails, but a cowboy hat now covered the top of her head. She was wearing a tiny red tank top, a black leather vest with strings of leather hanging off every seam, and a pair of _very_ tiny black leather shorts. Two fake guns hung on a holster around her waist, and thigh high boots were the only real thing covering her slim, long legs. I was tempted to call her the dark 'Daisy Duke', but I had a feeling she'd kick me. Her cheeks were a little red as she stood there among everyone.

Daisya didn't looked very different from usual, in my opinion. He wore a dark blue court jester outfit, bells hanging everywhere, with his own jester hat and two magenta lines under his eyes. His brown hair stuck out in little tufts from under the hat, which was unusual. I had a feeling Lavi hadn't been very original with his costume, but he looked happy enough.

Fou's was the funniest, next to Kanda's. She was a French maid, I presumed, with high heeled Mary Janes, her apron and white cap, as well as her pink hair, the only thing not black. Her stockings, overly-short skirt, and top were all black, and quite suggestive. However, she herself looked quite passive, a complete contrast from the costume. Beside her, Marie was dressed in tons and tons of bandages, and I was guessing he was a mummy. Even his eyes were covered, but I supposed it didn't really matter to him.

Lulubell, who was next to Marie, was wearing a very tight black dress that was about as short as Lenalee's shorts, with no thigh high boots to cover her long slender legs. Her eyes were covered by light purple sunglasses, which confused me, and her long blonde hair was tied into a tight bun for the night. A silver tiara (I couldn't tell if it was fake or not) sat on top of her head, and fake blood covered her front, coming from a very realistic, but quite fake, gash in her neck. Dead prom queen? Lavi hadn't been in charge of the Noah costumes.

Most of the Noahs were dressed in some sort of similar fashion, with dark twists to them, except for the twins. I had a hard time not laughing aloud (and not just at the irony of it) when I saw their Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum costumes from Alice in Wonderland. The little red cap with the yellow flag on top didn't suit either of them very well, nor did the red leggings or the yellow shirts or dress shoes, or even the blue bow and white collar, but in the end it only made the costumes that much better. They looked absolutely hilarious.

However, there was no Kanda in sight. He seemed to be refusing to come out of his room, wherever that was in this maze, and Lavi ad said to leave him to his own devices, whatever that meant. Now, the redhead was pestering _me_. "Come on, Allen! _please!_"

"No, I'm not taking them off!" I snapped, tugging away from the persistent redhead, who was trying to pry my gloves off. "Besides that, people from that time wear gloves all the time!"

"Yeah, but you _never_ take yours off! Don't your hands get sweaty and pruny from all that?" He asked, acting like a toddler not being given his favorite toy. "Take them off! Plea-ease?"

"No!" I snapped, too harshly. There was a hushed silence, and from the corner of my eye I could see Lenalee's surprised look. That was nothing compared to Lavi. He looked like he had just been slapped in the face. Guilt began to creep up on me, but I shoved it away. "You're not two! You don't have to have absolutely everything you want! That's not the way life works. Grow up a little."

"_What do you know?_" The whisper was so faint, I wasn't sure if I even heard it or if I was just imagining things, but the expression on Lavi's face didn't change.

"Shut it, bean sprout." I cringed when I heard Kanda's voice. He was standing in one of the doorways again, and his anger was such a contrast with his costume that I was unsure whether I wanted to run and hide or laugh in his face. This was probably the reason he hadn't come out sooner. "You don't have to blow up because of it. Lavi!" He barked the name so sharply that Lavi seemed to automatically stand straight. "Leave the brat alone."

There was an extremely stunned silence. If Lavi looked surprised before, it was nothing compared to now. He kept looking back and forth from me to Kanda, despite the fact that neither of us were talking. It was as if he were trying to understand why Kanda was standing up for me. I, on the other hand, knew why, and wasn't necessarily so surprised.

"Why do you draw him closer and closer to you, and yet he grows farther…"

"Can we finished the decorations?" I asked into the silence. Kanda gave a stiff nod, the only seemingly able to respond, and everyone stared between us, even the Noahs.

Why are they getting along?

That was most likely the thing that they wanted to ask right now. However, Kanda and I were not 'getting along'. It was only a mutual understanding, something that made us agree but by no means made us friends. This mutual understanding? It was only one word…one name…_Lavi._

Lavi kept looking at me suspiciously. He suddenly wouldn't leave Kanda's side, who was dressed in all black, with a plastic sword at his side, almost the exact opposite of me, and as a cherry on top (from the look of an evil nobleman or robber), he had on a set of fake cat ears and tail. I wondered why he had even bothered with the last two items; he could have easily just ditched them and looked like he was some freaky wannabe Robin Hood and used his freaky ass glare to silence Lavi.

I had a feeling, though, that even if Kanda absolutely hated it he would still do whatever Lavi wanted him to do. Why? Why was he so wrapped in Lavi's web that he would even come to _my_ house to tell me about his theories? What connection did those two share that made them so inseparable even when they were apart?

Before now, I had never really seen Lavi with Kanda, since he had always been with me, but now I could see their bond for myself. Even though Lavi was following him around and Kanda was barking at him for everything he was doing, Lavi continued to smile and Kanda never once hit him. Sometimes, I swore I saw a smile on his face, too.

And then, as I put up the last of the streamers, Lavi's voice echoed in my head. _"What do you know?"_ Had he really said that? Had I only been imagining things? Everyone around me was talking excitedly, even Fou, and Lavi was being pushed away by Kanda as he tried to hug said feminine boy for some reason unknown to me.

Watching him from afar, with Kanda, it was easy to say Lavi was happy. But when you really spend time with him, really get to know him, his smile seems to become more and more sad…it wasn't that his smile changed, it was that you could finally notice it. No, Lavi never changed his façade, it was always nearly perfect. But that was the thing. It was _nearly_ perfect. It was still noticeable, even if only to those who spent so much time with him.

"Hey, stop daydreaming and put the ladder away." A cold voice said below me. I very nearly jumped out of my skin when I looked down to find Tykki, dressed as, I was guessing, Count Dracula. I counted to ten before I regained control over my speeding heart, and glared down at him.

"Original costume." I said coldly, descending from my post. He said nothing, walking away, his long black cloak swishing as he did. What a drama queen. With a bitter sigh, and a last glance at Lavi and Kanda, I picked up the ladder, nearly falling under the weight and calling Lenalee desperately for help.

("…")

One thing I notice about parties is how everyone tries to show off. _Especially_ Halloween parties. I had never seen a party so…_rich_. Even if they were poor, it seemed like every single person in this house had on an expensive (looking) costume. It was like some kind of competition. Three times I saw people dressed up as the Joker from Batman, but that was the only costume that really seemed like it was what everyone would be wearing in some other town or city, but even those three were so…_real_ I had a hard time not believing the Joker was actually here, three places at once.

As soon as people had started arriving, it was like I had been cut off from all the other club members. Everyone seemed to separate naturally into respective groups, mingling with everyone while still staying in range of their friends. I, however, remained completely alone. Lenalee didn't drag me off this time, Fou didn't scoff and let me join in, and Lavi…was gone. He and Kanda seemed to have vanished from my sight somewhere in the wild throng of people.

Because _everyone_ was here. The whole high school seemed to have come. Fou, even though dressed as a French maid, stood with her group of Scientist dressed friends as if she were dressed the same. Lenalee, in her cowgirl outfit, stood casually in her circle of faerie-and-princess dressed friends. Marie was even a part of a group, Daisya with him, standing with people who were all dressed in classical movie monsters. Marie must have been the only one who actually fit in with his group of friends from the club.

My sightseeing was distracted when yells reached my ears. Someone dressed as the Headless Horseman, a real pumpkin over his head, was currently running around like a madman trying to cut people's heads off with a fake sparring sword. Bitter yelling was chasing after him, people raising their fists and a couple of guys even taking action and pelting after the guy.

Feeling obliged, I began to head towards the horseman, shoving through the crowd as politely as I could. "Excuse me please, let me through…sorry…ah, watch out…can I get through…?" it seemed to take forever, but when I finally reached the pumpkin head, he was already being pinned to the wall by one of the chasers, someone dressed as Van Helsing. I ignored the irony of the situation when I saw that the person who had followed was someone dressed as Frankenstein.

"Excuse me, could you let him go?" I asked over the loud music. I didn't really recall when we had put such a large stereo system, or a DJ, into the hall, but then again they could have already been here before. Well, not the DJ, but the system.

"Hell no! Back off, pretty boy!" Helsing snapped, shoving Pumpkin Head harder against the wall. I heard a small whimper escape, and sighed heavily, stalking up to the monster hunter. It was bad enough he had called me _pretty_. Didn't he realize this costume wasn't _my_ idea?

"Let him go, please. I don't want any trouble." I muttered into his ear, close enough now. Without warning, I placed my hand casually to the back of his neck. It would look more like I was trying to put my arm around his shoulders from anyone else's point of view, but the sudden cry of pain that came from him showed that he knew what I was really doing.

Releasing the pressure from his neck, I hovered dangerously until he let go of Pumpkin Head. Without a word, said person ran off, not even uttering a thank you. Helsing, however, turned to me furiously. "Who the hell do you think you are?" He snapped. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a (real) jackknife and pointed it at me.

"Allen!" The call surprised me, and I turned, completely ignoring the knife. Cheerfully, almost too cheerfully, Lenalee was coming towards me, her eyes briefly flickering to the knife being pointed at me. A few people were staring now, mostly at Lenalee. Behind Lenalee, Kanda and Lavi were following, both with stoic expressions.

"Hey," I said, just as cheerfully. I turned completely away from Helsing, giving Lenalee a small, happy wave. When they reached me, Lenalee casually turned towards the knife bearer, smiling happily.

"Could you put that away?" She asked, her voice still with it's too-cheerful tone. Lavi and Kanda stared coldly at the guy, neither one showing an ounce of emotion. The guy was staring at them, his hand shaking now, before giving a jittery bow and putting his knife away. With a single glare my way, he hurried off, Frankenstein following after him.

"You know, getting into trouble all the time isn't exactly a good trait." Lavi said, but he didn't say it with his usual cheerfulness. Though he was talking to me, he seemed to refuse to look at me. Was he still angry?

"Hey, Allen, do you think you could go and get the Fruit Punch? It's in the kitchen, and everyone else is busy. I just came over to ask you, but I really have to go…" She was looking in the direction of the guy with the knife warily before turning to me with a smile. "Sorry."

"Yeah, sure," I said, giving her a warm smile before pushing past Lavi, deliberately shoving his shoulder as I went by. On the way, I saw Pumpkin Head standing with a group of people, his pumpkin now cradled in one arm and his face a nervous wreck. He looked pretty young, probably even from junior high instead of high school, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He was with a group of people who looked around his age or slightly younger or older. The person laughing at him and standing closest to him had blonde hair and lilac eyes, clapping the guy on the back. He was dressed as a wizard, from the looks of it.

And all of them looked so happy.

I wished I could have had that kind of happiness…

I turned away from them, just as Pumpkin Head turned in my direction, and headed towards the nearest door leading out of the hall. As soon as I was past the doorway and into a hallway, it was like someone had put mufflers over my ears. Instantly, the music silenced, and I found myself staring down a long, slightly intimidating hallway. Why did Kanda's place have to be so big?

"Hey, mister!" Someone called, and I turned to find two people running after me; the two boys. Pumpkin Head seemed to have discarded his pumpkin completely, and was giving me a large grin. His friend, the wizard, was giving me the same grin. "Hey, thanks for earlier!"

"No problem." I said with a smile. "Just don't go whacking people in the head again."

"Wow…" The wizard moaned, stepping closer to me. "Are you like a prince? I mean, a _real_ prince? Are you a ghost who's about to disappear and we'll never see you again?"

"Er…" I raised my eyebrows, while Pumpkin Head nodded furiously.

"Yeah, you must be! There's no one in this town who's actually cool enough to do something like that for someone else! Anyone else would've just let me get beaten to a pulp!" He cried out, taking a few steps closer. "You're really cool, mister ghost! I bet the person who lives here must think of you as his best friend!"

I thought of Kanda, and image taking place of him bowing to me with starry eyes, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, right…best friends…" I gasped out, holding my stomach as giggles erupted from my lips. The two boys looked confused, sending a glance at each other before shrugging.

"So where are you going? To the attic, where you were killed? Or to your old room, where you still protect because you don't want anyone else to go in it?" Pumpkin Head asked.

"How old are you…?" I gasped out, leaning against the wall as I continued to chortle. The question seemed to offend both of them, and they stood straight with puffed up chests.

"Fourteen!" They chimed at the same time. Pumpkin Head took over from there. "We're going to the high school next year as freshman! We plan on taking over the school!"

"Yeah, and we're going to be famous even after we graduate!" The blonde continued.

"I'm Jean!" Pumpkin Head said, gesturing to himself with his thumb.

"And I'm Leo!" The blonde followed.

"And together, we're the Dynamic Duo!" The said together. I stared at them incredulously, too disbelieving to laugh.

"Couldn't you have come up with a _slightly_ better name for yourselves…?" I muttered under my breath, standing up straight again and giving them a kind smile. Were they insane, or were they just taking a little too long to mature? "Ah…well…I mean, it seems pretty cool, I guess…"

"You think it's dumb!" The blonde pointed at me accusingly, and I deadpanned. Yeah, I did think it was dumb, but I didn't think my bluff was _that_ easy to see through.

"No, really, I think it's really cool," I said, waving my hands and giving them a wary smile. They stared at me suspiciously, but as I continued to smile at them their faces slowly started to melt into equal looks of pleasure.

"Sweet! Now we've got a ghost to back us up!" Jean shouted happily, jumping in the air. His cloak seemed to disagree with this action, and he ended up stepping on it. As a result, he took a tumble, pulling Leo with him. I stared down at the two boys, tangled in each other's limbs, and imagined them with swirl eyes.

"Well, I have to go now…" I whispered into the air. The two boys didn't seemed to be paying any attention to me anymore. Before they could, though, I hurried down the hall and into the nearest open door. A moment later, as I closed it behind me, I heard two excited yells of surprise.

"Cool! He really did disappear!" I heard one of them yell, and I smiled to myself. Chuckling, I pushed off the door and looked around. When I saw what was in the center of the room, my breath stopped and my heart skipped a beat. Was it coincidence, or was it fate, that I had gone through this door?

There, almost innocently but yet still so menacing, sat a grand piano in all its glory, the top opened and on its own special platform.

With shaking steps, I stepped onto the platform and closer to the piano. A velvety seat was there in front of the keys, almost as if greeting me, calling me into the darkness, the peace, the memories…

I don't know why I did it, why I sat down and placed my hands tenderly on the ivory keys. Smoothly, lightly enough so that no sound would come, I ran my fingers across the keys, feeling the smooth, cold feeling I had long forgotten. What would it be like, to hear those notes again, to be able to feel the peace I had once loved so much…?

Slowly, deliberately, I pressed down on one of the keys. The note that followed echoed in my ears, both comforting and frightening. The need for more engulfed me, shocking me. When had I missed the piano so much? The need to play was making my fingers itch, and I needed to quench my desire…

Before really thinking it over, before thinking about the consequences or really caring about them, I began to play. The melodious sound filled my ears, relaxing me, and I closed my eyes. It had been over six years since I had last played this song, or even a piano for that matter. In fact, the last song I had ever played was this one.

I began to hum along with the tune, the words slowly coming back to me that my uncle and Mana had made so long ago when they had been children. Mana had helped my uncle write this song. My uncle had played this song for me the day before he had disappeared. I had played this song the night of Mana's death.

The more I played, the more the memories came back, but surprisingly they did not frighten me. Maybe because I was where they could not touch me. I was playing the piano again, the one thing that could always wash away my pain no matter how great it was. Mana had often found me playing the piano after Uncle's death, and when he had asked me about it I had told him that it was to remember without hurting…

Which was exactly what I was doing now.

Why had it been this door that I had walked through, on a night like this? Why had my pain led me here?

Now, instead of memories of Mana, new memories entered my head. Memories of Fou when she had first arrived on my doorstep, of when she had confessed to me, of when she had introduced me to her friends, of when she had gotten offended when I had called her a dog…none of them played in sequence, but rather, came randomly as they wished.

Then, memories of Lenalee came, of all the times she had helped me and talked to me, and of when she had said something…

_"I've had my eye on you two for a while now."_

What had she meant? Memories of Lavi suddenly came like a flood, as if giving me an answer. Of course, it couldn't have been what she meant, but at the moment I didn't think about her…I though of Lavi…

Lavi, as he helped me to the hospital wing after Kanda had kicked me so brutally, and how close he had been to me; Lavi, as he laughed at my expense as I tried on costumes; Lavi, as he helped me out of every tight stitch I had gotten into lately; Lavi, as he hugged me after I had reminisced, and told me everything would be okay…Lavi, as he greeted me in my door…Lavi as he sat with Kanda, talking about me, in the classroom that he had been in to make lessons…Lavi, as he stared coldly at me after I had yelled at him…

So many memories after such a short time…

And then, the memory of when he had made me go to the video store, the morning after everything had truly begun.

"_Will you leave me alone after this if I do?" I asked, glaring at him as if he were the reason there were kids starving in Africa._

"_Yeah, sure, why not?" He said dismissively, waving his hand in the air. I glared, not liking the too-vacant way he had said it._

"_Why are you so determined to ruin my morning?" I asked harshly, and he looked down at me, surprised._

Didn't he always come in the mornings now? It was never to ruin them…not once…

"_They made a club…for rich people?" I asked. Lavi looked down at me, frowning. I didn't like the fact that he was taller than me._

"_No." he replied. "For smart people, who show promise."_

"_That's still…sort of bizarre, isn't it?" I asked._

No, the only thing about it bizarre anymore was how I had never joined earlier.

"_Sure you can, Allen! I'm attractive, intelligent, charming…don't tell me you didn't notice?" he gave me a pout, as if he were offended. I glared at him._

"_Yeah, in your head." I said, and looked away._

"_That wasn't very nice!" Lavi wined, and I shrugged._

_"It's not my fault your ego's too big for your head."_

Lavi really did have a big ego, sometimes, but it was all true. All of it. Of course I had to admit it now, after getting to know him, even if it was only a little…

"_That reminds me, I have a date today at three…oh yeah, and dinner, too."_

"_I hope with the same girl." _

"_No, I'm meeting a European model I met yesterday on the streets for lunch, and then I'm meeting a girl from school at a small restaurant then heading off to a movie with her."_

"_Do you even care about their feelings? Don't you think you should show them a little more trust?"_

"_Well, I already know the girl from school has a boyfriend and the model will only be here for another couple of days, so there's really no problem. I mean, if they know and I know that it's just going to be a one night stand because of the circumstances, then there should be no real problem, right?" _

"_It's still disrespectful, and disgusting. You're even making a girl cheat on her own partner!"_

_"Well, it shouldn't matter to you anyways. It's none of your business what I do with my life, just like it's none of my business what you do with yours. We're two very different people, Allen, and we see things differently, so there's no need to get all huffy because I'm doing what I always do. Ah, this one looks like fun; you wanna see this one?"_

Lavi…you were right…we really were different, completely different. Except, I had it wrong back then. I thought I was better than you, that you were just some freak who had money, but there was so much more. I was the one who was lesser, and I still am…

_"Yeah. Bye. I'll see you around, probably. This town really isn't all that big, so we'll probably run into each other again." He paused, and with a thoughtful expression he leaned forward and brushed back my hair, staring at the star on my forehead for a long moment. His gaze narrowed, and his brows furrowed. "That really is interesting…" he muttered, and then let go of my hair. His touch lingered, making me want to scratch the area he had touched. Before I could comment on his strange behavior, he was walking away._

Lavi was always walking away, farther and farther from my reach. How had I not noticed it before? How had I not noticed how troubled he had been lately? Thinking back on it now, for the past couple of weeks, hasn't Lavi been acting differently? Even though his mask was up…weren't his laughs getting less frequent, weren't his smiles starting to show less shine?

And yet, Kanda had said he was getting _closer_ to me, and _farther_ from him. It didn't seem that way to me. How could _I_ be the one that Lavi was getting closer to, when he was really getting farther from my reach, from being…mine?

Thinking the word shocked me, and my fingers stopped on the keys. I stared down at the ivory, my eyes wide, as that single word echoed through my mind over and over again…

_Mine…mine…mine…mine…_

Clapping sounded in my ears, and my head snapped up. I only just noticed the wet feeling on my face, and touched the skin tenderly, looking down at my gloved hands. I was surprised to see that it was wet. Had I been crying? The clapping stopped, and I looked back up, searching for the person, but of course I already knew who it was. It was _always_ him now. He seemed to always be there, the only one that was ever there anymore. Like he was the only person who existed, and everyone else were dreams…

Or maybe it was the other way around.

"I didn't know you could play piano." Lavi said, walking into the room. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. Once, I had been used to this, I had thought it was just normal, but after everything that had happened, those smiles had gotten more and more lively…and now, as this smile went back to the one from when I had first met him, it scared me.

"Y-yeah…I learned when I was little…" I whispered, looking down and pulling my hands away from the keys. Lavi stepped onto the platform, coming to stand directly behind me. His blue jacket was open, showing his gray top underneath.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked, sitting next to me on the small bench. His arm touched mine as he stared at me inquisitively. However, that dead look was still in his eyes…why was he talking to me?

"I don't know, I guess I just found it too hard to continue." I muttered, looking away from his dead gaze. I didn't want to see that look anymore.

"Really? Why?" He asked casually. _Because of you…_

"Because I was remembering a lot of stuff, I guess." I mumbled absently.

"Oh. Stuff you don't want to talk about." His voice was too casual. He was only amusing me. He didn't actually want to talk to me right now…no, that was extremely doubtful.

"No, not really." I mumbled. My voice was getting lower, my lips barely opening as I talked now. I was reluctant to answer his questions. I wanted to ask why he was here, why he was talking to me, why he couldn't just leave me alone. Didn't he realize he was the reason I was so frustrated, so confused?

"We missed you at the party." He said, and hope rose in me. "Everyone was wondering where the punch was." And then it sank again. I think I snapped then, because I took Lavi by the arm, the one that was touching me, and pulled my face close to his.

"Why are you here?" I demanded. "Why can't you leave me alone? I know you're mad at me! I know! So why are you talking to me like this, where you're only making it more obvious that you are? You know it hurts me more, don't you? Why…why can't you just leave me…?" I slumped forward, and was only vaguely surprised as more tears began to fall. My forehead rested on Lavi's shoulder, but he did not shrug me off. I didn't release his arm.

"I'm not mad at you…" He said quietly. "I'm just pissed off."

"Isn't that the same thing?" I whispered hoarsely. His body shook as a dry laugh escaped his lips.

"No, not really. Being pissed off in general is different from being mad at one specific person." He said. "Anyways, I'm not mad at you. Sure, you could've warned me that you told Yuu what his costume was before we got to his place, but that's easily forgiven. By the way…how was he able to get it out of you? He wouldn't tell me."

"Of course he wouldn't. Kanda's not like that." I muttered, and even I was surprised with myself. I could tell Lavi was surprised by the way he said absolutely nothing, not even joking about me liking Kanda or anything like that. "Anyways, you cut off there. Don't avoid the question."

"It wasn't a question, I was taking it upon myself to explain to you why I was pissed off." Lavi corrected, almost playfully, but his voice was still too dead, too casual. I refused to raise my head from his shoulder.

"So, are you going to tell me?" I whispered.

"Yeah…I guess." He said, and shrugged his shoulder. My head bounced. "Come on, get up. I want to play with you, first."

I blinked, surprised, the tears stopping. Slowly, I raised my head to stare at him. His hands were resting gently on the keys he was in front of. He seemed distant, far away, as if he weren't really there, but when he looked at me, he gave me such a genuine smile that for a moment I wondered if I had been daydreaming for the whole day. Lavi was back to himself in an instant.

"You play?" I asked, wiping away the tears still there.

"Only a little. You're a lot better than me." He said, giving me a softer smile this time. I blushed, looking away.

"I'm not that good…" I whispered. "It's been six years."

"Six years? Jeeze, Allen, you didn't sound even a bit rusty." His voice sounded like that fake surprise that I hated. He gave me his goofy grin when I looked up at him with a pout of disbelief. The pout froze on my face, replaced by awe. Slowly, his grin disappeared, turning into innocent confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" I whispered, turning to the keys. Had I really seen what I thought I had seen? Had I really seen…joy?

"So, can you teach me that song you were just playing?" Lavi asked, his arm moving against mine as he, too, got ready to play. Our closeness was starting to get to me. I was about to say flat out no, like I would for anyone else who would have asked, but then I paused. This was Lavi, this was the person who had brought me out of my zombie years, the person who had become my most precious friend…and besides that, if anyone could understand, it was Lavi, right?

"Yeah…yeah, I guess so." I whispered. Lavi was happy. He said thank you over and over again until I deliberately cut him off by beginning to play, successfully silencing him, and he acted as a good pupil as I began to teach him the song. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that he finally began to talk.

"My home life…" He began slowly, still playing the part I had just taught him. "It's been getting a little screwed up lately. My house has been getting absolutely nuts. The old man hasn't been home in a week and I'm the only one around to take command. Going to school is only making things worse, and I really shouldn't have been planning this party in the end. I haven't even had the time to focus on my studying lately, and yet I've been giving myself all this free time…

"Recently, this big problem with the company came up. Gramps was the only one who could smooth it over, though he seemed highly tempted to send me instead, and it took a lot of convincing on my part to keep it as only a temptation, but as a result I was left in control of everything else. On top of that, old enemies have started to come skulking around again, and the Noahs are plotting something evil behind our backs.

"And then, on top of that, Yuu keeps on begging me to stop being a slave for the old man, that I have no obligations…" His voice was shaking, and his hands turned into fists, hitting the piano hard. I jumped, the loud notes breaking into the once peaceful atmosphere. "I owe everything to that old man…if it weren't for him…"

"Lavi…" I muttered, resting a hand on his gently. He flinched away, and for the first time I saw what Lavi was really feeling under that cheerful demeanor. He looked at me with anger, with stress, and with pain. His whole face was torn apart by agony, of whatever was troubling him. His whole frame shook. For the first time, I saw Lavi's weakened state.

"You don't understand…" he whispered, shoving off of the stool. "You can't understand…"

"Lavi, what are you saying?" I asked, standing up, furrowing my eyebrows. "Of course I can't understand. No one can understand, because no one can truly understand what another person feels. The only thing they can understand is how _they_ themselves feel. I never once expected you to understand how I felt about anything, and I never once expected you to expect me to understand how you felt. Don't talk about people being unable to understand unless _they say they can themselves_! Do _you_ understand?"

"Y-no." He seemed to change his answer half way through, having thought about what I just said. I raised my eyebrows. "I mean…yes?" It seemed like my sudden statement had successfully brought him back to himself as he tried to figure out the right answer. "Well…I mean, I understand…in my way?"

"There you go." I nodded approvingly, acting like a teacher who just taught a particularly difficult lesson to a kindergartener.

"Huh…makes sense…" Lavi said, smiling. It was a wary smile, as if he were unsure of himself. Then, the smile became wider. "Thanks, Allen. Sorry…about blowing up like that. My problems shouldn't have to be dumped on you."

"It's fine. You need someone to talk to, don't you?" I asked, sitting back down. "I might be a burden on you, like everyone says, but I feel like I can do a little if I'm able to listen." I gave him a meek smile, feeling more cheesy than I had…well, since the Ferris Wheel ride.

"Haha, yeah, I guess." He said, sitting down as well. "By the way, are we almost finished this song? There's still a party and all…"

"Nope, not even close." I said, grinning. Lavi winced. We were back to normal, it seemed. Though, I couldn't help but notice how Lavi was now very careful not to touch me, and how his hands seemed to shake as they played a couple of notes on the piano. Frowning as if thinking, covering for my sudden concern, I placed a finger on my chin. "I could always teach you the rest some other day."

"It's settled, then!" Lavi chimed, standing up eagerly. "Hot girls in tiny costumes, here I come!"

I winced as he said this, my teeth snapping together audibly. "Lavi…" I growled. He laughed nervously, and was out the door before I could do a thing.

("…")

"Look, there he is! The white prince everyone is talking about!" Someone whispered as I passed, heading towards the food table.

"Didn't he totally take down some guy with a knife?" someone else asked.

"He's so cute! Do you think he'd dance with me if I asked him?" This was obviously a girl, her voice a high, excited pitch.

My cheeks were red, and they couldn't seem to go back to normal. It seemed rumors of my 'rescue' had spread during the time I had been teaching Lavi how to play _that_ song. Now, everyone kept on whispering as I passed by them, and a few even said something about a ghost, which assured me who had been spreading the rumor.

Reaching the food table, I sighed happily, briefly ignoring the whispers as I began to stuff every single piece of food I could into my mouth. People were watching me with a mingle of disgust and awe, and as I swallowed and reached for the last item on one of the trays, a particularly good looking chicken wing, a girl walked up to me with her face bright red, wearing a pirate's outfit. She had on a pair of cotton black mini shorts, a dark red t-shirt, a black sash around her waist, and a pair of leather shoes—just leather. She had a red bandana covering her hair, which looked brown, and her bright blue eyes were thickly outlined with heavy eyeliner. She definitely looked the part. I even spotted fake tattoos on her arms and a few other things that you only ever really saw a pirate wearing.

"Uh, excuse me, could you…maybe…" She bit her lip, looking down at the floor. She stood a little taller than me, which made me a little angry, but I said nothing of it. Besides, it wasn't _her_ fault. "I was wondering…do you want to dance?"

"Uh…" I paused, reaching behind me absently to grab the chicken wing, prepared to shove it in my mouth. It was too inviting to ignore, and though it would be rude to do this to the girl while talking to her, I didn't want it disappearing on me. "Sure, I guess…" and then my hand found nothing. The plate was empty.

Blinking in surprise, I turned around, but I had been feeling the right plate. The chicken wing was gone. Looking around desperately, I immediately found the culprit. He had been right behind me while I had been talking to the girl. Snapping my teeth together, I snatched the chicken wing away from Kanda, who had just been about to shove it in his mouth. For a moment, he looked a little dumbfounded, but as soon as he saw me about to put the chicken wing in my mouth, he let out a battle cry and drew his plastic sword.

Alarmed, I dropped the chicken wing, which only seemed to make Kanda angrier, and I stared down at the wasted food with a devastated look. Looking back up, I glared at Kanda, also drawing my sword.

"What the _hell_ was that for, you stupid bean sprout?!" He yelled, raising the sword. Not really used to carrying one of these, I raised my sword in defense, just in time to block his attack.

"I was going to eat that before you!" I snapped back, pushed back from his force. He followed me as I took a few steps back, people spreading apart into a large circle. They were all yelling now, but I couldn't really understand them what with the mix of the overly loud music and all their voices mingled together. Besides that, I was concentrated on only one person right now.

"Keh, you can shove your face with other food!" He snapped, tossing his head to get a few stray hairs out of his face. The cat ears on his head moved. I was again faced with the odd desire to either laugh in his face or run away, but right now I could do neither. He had taken my chicken wing… "And besides that, you were talking to that damn girl! Why should you care if I take _my_ food?"

"I…" he did have a point there, though. Faltering, I tried to think of a comeback, but was distracted when Kanda's sword came at me. Quickly, I blocked it again. The strength behind the hit was unbelievable, and I once again found myself pushed back. "I still put a claim on it first!" I yelled out desperately, pushing back now.

"Keh, if you put a claim on it you would have had it in your hand instead of being distracted by some girl!" Kanda yelled back, dodging as I took a wild swing. He seemed extremely surprised when he saw that I had nicked his shirt, which was now slightly torn. Just how sharp was this thing, if it was only plastic?

"I wasn't being distracted! She was asking me to dance with her, and I can't just ignore someone when they're talking to me! I'm not like you!" I snapped back, making more wild moves. It seemed to be working, anyways.

Every hit I made Kanda blocked. Every hit he made, I _tried_ to block. I succeeded a lot, but I still ended up with a few bruises by the time I finally laid my first actual hit on Kanda, directly in the stomach. He looked so surprised and shocked, that he dropped his sword. Muttering could be heard everywhere around me, and the girl who had asked me to dance suddenly ran up, coming up to inspect me.

"Are you okay?" She asked over the noise, about to touch me, but I flinched away. I realized my mistake a little late, but quickly gave her a warm smile.

"I'm fine," I said. I looked over her shoulder at Kanda, who still looked shocked, and saw Lavi come into the circle. He was laughing heartily, and placed a hand on Kanda's shoulder. Kanda, being the cold bastard that he was, shrugged Lavi's hand off and picked up his plastic sword again. He really didn't look very intimidating with that tail and those ears…

"Are you sure?" I was brought back to the girl, who was still frowning in concern. I gave her another reassuring smile.

"Of course. They're only plastic; see?" I held up the sword, showing her the dents that had been caused by Kanda and mine's battle. The girl was interrupted from saying something when Lavi appeared by her side.

"Wow, Allen! I didn't know you could use a sword, too!" he cried over the music. I just gave a sheepish grin.

"This was the first time," I called back. Here, Lavi was stopped short. He stared at me in shock.

"And…you won against Yuu?" He asked, and poked me in the forehead. My face scrunched up and I swatted his hand away.

"What was that for?" I demanded, but he didn't seem to hear me.

"You won against Yuu, and that was your _first_ time picking up any sort of sword?" He asked again. I just nodded, a little concerned by the way he looked now. Then, a huge grin spread over his face. "Oh, wait till I tell him! You know, Yuu's been using a sword for _years_, ever since he was five! I've never met anyone able to beat him besides his dad!"

And then it came to me. "Oh!" I gasped. "Kanda's dad—I ran into him when I was going to the hospital to see Master!" I remembered now. He had scoffed coldly at me as I ran through the crowds. I felt sort of relieved finally remembering where I had seen Kanda's dad before. Lavi, however, was looking at me as if I were insane. I looked over his shoulder to try and see Kanda, but he wasn't there. "Where is he?"

"Oh, him? He's probably stomping off to his room by now, trying to find out what he did wrong to let you get a hit on him." Lavi said casually, shrugging. "I don't think he's used to wild flailing." I glared at the insult, but it was quickly washed away with a smile. I was too happy that I had actually won against Kanda, now that the shock had resided.

"So, you wanted to dance?"

In the crowd, I caught sight of Leo and Jean's astonished faces.

("…")

I still wasn't sure how it ended up like this.

"So, when do you think you can teach me how to play the rest of that song?" Lavi asked, dragging his feet along the pavement. He was back in his normal clothes, a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, wearing a gray, unzipped hoodie instead of his usual jean jacket. It was probably the most casual I had ever seen him. He wasn't even wearing his bright scarf or headband.

"I don't know…I don't have a piano, and it doesn't seem like you have any time right now," I muttered, playing nervously with the sleeves of my own, black hoodie. I, too, was back in my normal clothes. Lavi had insisted on walking back home with me, and had also insisted on taking a route I didn't know. Now, we were walking along some curvy back road, the houses _below_ us instead of above us. The roofs of the houses were barely visible in the dark night, many houses still with their lights on. If we wanted to, we could probably have jumped onto the roofs.

"Well, that's okay. We can work out a time later, when gramps gets back." Lavi said, grinning.

"Who is this…gramps…anyways? He is the same as panda, old geezer, old fart, old-" Lavi interrupted me, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, they're all the same, the one and only…" Here, Lavi paused. "You know, he doesn't actually have a name. If anybody needs to address him, then it's just 'Bookman'. That's how I got my last name. You know, I'm not actually related to him." This sort of surprised me. Sure, I had learned about 'panda' when we had gone to the store, the person who had taken him in, his grandfather, but he had just said that the panda 'technically adopted' him. "He took me in when no one else would. See, the Noahs back then thought I'd be worth nothing if I didn't even have my parents, but once they learned about my potential…"

"I get it." I muttered. "They realized you'd be valuable. You'd be a good treasure to add to the collection." Lavi just nodded. "Well…I'm glad they didn't get a hold of you." I nodded firmly, and Lavi raised his eyebrows. Blushing now, I looked away. "Well, it's true. If they had of been the ones to raise you, then it's doubtful you and I would have ever become friends."

"Well, yeah, that's true…" Lavi said thoughtfully, then grinned. "So you _do_ like me."

"What!?" I cried out, my eyes widening. "Th-that's not what I meant!"

"Sure, sure…" Lavi chuckled, placing his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. I followed his example, leaving my hands down. The stars were sparkling, more out than usual. It was also oddly clear tonight, considering it was Fall. "You know, I took this way so I could see this."

"See what?" I asked quietly, feeling as if raising my voice would break the peace and ruin the sky, causing it to be cloudy again. I was pretty sure I already knew what Lavi had wanted to see, but I asked anyways.

"The stars. There's no better place to see them except for over at the hiking trail. Not in town, anyways." His voice was so gentle. Silence followed afterwards, as we stared up at the sky, not paying attention to how fast we were walking as long as we didn't fall over the edge. Then, after a few minutes, Lavi dropped his arms and looked at me. Curious, I lowered my head and looked back.

"Hmm?" I hummed. I felt a little dazed after looking up for so long.

"You know, you're probably going to be known as the Valiant Prince from now on at school." Lavi said, grinning widely. My cheeks reddened for what felt like the umpteenth time that night.

"Shut up…it was Kanda's fault. He took my chicken wing." I muttered, embarrassed. Lavi blinked in surprise.

"That's what it was about? Wow, you guys are really immature." He said, laughing. I glared at him.

"Whatever. It was my food." I muttered. Lavi winced.

"That's right, I forgot…" He whispered. I think he was remembering the same thing I was; our trip to the Chinese restaurant. It had been the first time I had ever actually full out eaten in front of Lavi, and I hadn't held back a bit. Even after he started pestering me about Annabelle. With a shudder, and gave me a wary grin. "All right, I'll agree with you on this one. He shouldn't have taken your food."

"Thanks," I said chirpily, grinning. Raising my hand, I touched the necklace around my neck. In a way, it was sort of feminine, but so far no one had said anything about it, not even Kanda. That meant it couldn't look _that_ feminine, could it?

"By the way, nice score on the girl." Lavi said suddenly, and I felt my cheeks redden even more. How long had I danced with her until she finally realized I couldn't dance at all? She had said it was okay, and had taken to clinging to me until Lavi had finally offered to take me home when I started feeling a little claustrophobic from all the people.

"That was a little…unwanted." I admitted, unsure how to put it. Lavi said nothing, seemingly understanding…in his own way.

"So…you wanna try getting onto one of those roofs?" Lavi asked, suddenly devious. I knew that look. I was instantly reminded of the Fair. Slowly, I inched away from him.

"N-no thanks," I said as happily as I could. Whenever he got that look in his eyes, it meant Lavi wasn't going to give up until he was satisfied. Without a word, Lavi suddenly pushed me, and it was only then that I realized just how close I was to the edge of the road. Tumbling down an extremely steep hill, I ended up landing on softer, flatter land. Groaning, I rolled over so I was on my back, recognizing the feeling of freshly cut grass. I was in someone's yard.

From somewhere above me, I heard loud laughter, and I felt like hitting something, except I hurt too much. Out of nowhere, a figure suddenly appeared above me. For a moment, I thought it was Lavi, but was proved wrong when light from the house suddenly shined on the person's face. A girl was hovering over me, a bewildered expression on her face.

End Chapter

Yay! I finished! Nice and long, too. Sort of. Anyways, I added in Jean and Leo (from near the beginning), and I have _finally_ nearly come to an end with the Fall section. Soon, we'll be going into Winter. Winter, of course, is going to be centered _purely_ on romance. I said at the beginning that Fall would be centered around getting to know people. Well, winter is going to be romance, and then Spring and Summer are most likely going to be…well, that's a secret.

So, my birthday's in…19 days, so I'll _try_ and have the next chapter out by then. As a nice little treat. Teehee. Anyways, I worked really hard on this chapter, and I had a lot of bumps and bruises throughout it (I was amazed by how much I ended up taking out and adding in), so please tell me what you think! And don't get your hopes up too high that I'll update before my birthday, because it's doubtful I'll be able to, but I'll still try my hardest. Have a good weekend!


	12. November Rains

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

Chapter 12: November Rains

"_Allen, are you going to a friend's house tonight?" Mana's voice sounded strained, almost. As if he were trying hard not to laugh—or to cry._

"_No. I don't have any friends." Allen muttered, curling up tighter in the dark corner he had taken to._

"_Why not?" Mana's voice sounded hesitant, as if he didn't want to hear the answer. So why was he asking? Allen bit his lip, holding back his anger for the man._

"_They say I'm a freak, and that I'm a cry baby. They say I should have just stayed where I come from, and that you were a fool for adopting me. that I'm just more trouble for you." It was true, Allen knew. He was only a burden on Mana. Yet…yet… "I don't want to leave you! I don't care if I'm a burden! I wasn't to stay with you forever, Mana! I want to be able to call you father! I don't want to go back to the streets!"_

_There was a long silence, and the young boy began to wonder if Mana had left. Carefully, he pulled his head out from under his arm, and was thoroughly surprised when he saw Mana right there, sitting beside him. A tear was rolling down his face. "I know, Allen. I wont let you. Please… forgive me for bringing you into such a place…"_

* * *

"Are you _sure _you're okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." I muttered, looking anywhere but at the kind woman's eyes. My fingers were still running along the edge of the coffee cup as I absently kicked my feet under the woman's kitchen table, and quiet snickering came from directly beside me from the devious redhead. I felt like reaching over and smacking him for getting us in this situation. However, despite my embarrassment at having a complete stranger check my whole body for wounds and her giving me tea, I think the worst part about it was the teenaged girl who was maybe a year younger than me.

She was cute, in a sort of punk-goth way, her hair the same shade as Lavi's, and probably the same length if Lavi were to straighten his hair and let it hang in his eyes. She had a sort of bored look on her face, although she had previously been laughing at me. It wasn't this look that made it the worst part, though; it was the fact that her eyes had never once left my face since she had found me in her yard.

It was easy to tell why I had mistaken the girl for Lavi at first; they looked nearly identical. She even had the green eyes. I supposed if Lavi took off his eye patch, put on some heavy black eyeliner, straightened his hair and got a little smaller with a woman's chest, then I would be looking at twins. Of course, Lavi's features were still a lot more masculine than hers.

"So, tell me again why you ended up in the back yard with so many bruises?" The woman asked, her green eyes questioning. Besides their eyes, the two women looked nothing alike. The older woman had light brown hair, tied into a ponytail that still reached to the back of her chair. She had a few wrinkles on her otherwise young face, and it looked like she would never be able to scowl the way her (daughter?) was.

"Allen's a major klutz," Lavi said cheerfully, reaching over and ruffling my hair. I scowled, glaring at him, but I could tell by the way he was completely unaffected that I probably just looked like I was pouting. Huffing, I crossed my arms and looked away. I caught a brief glance of the girl—she was staring at Lavi now. Thank god.

"You pushed me." I muttered. Immediately the girl's attention returned to me, and the amusement was back. I felt a little creeped out by her gaze, and kept my head down to avoid it. What was her problem?

"Now, now, Allen. I never pushed you. You were just standing too close to the edge when I gave you a playful shove." Lavi (attempted) to correct. I once again wanted to smack him. "I'm very sorry, ma'am, for the trouble. I will of course do anything you like to show my apology." Lavi's face became a sincere (but not really) smile, and I swear if this were a cartoon he would have roses and sparkles surrounding him.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." The woman waved absently, her attention returning to me as if Lavi had said nothing. If there had been roses and sparkles before, it turned into a dark night with bats. The redheaded girl, however, was looking at him. Of course, I was pretty sure it wasn't with admiration, but rather with humor. As if she were saying those kinds of things didn't work on her mother. "Will you be needing anything else tonight?"

"Uh…what do you mean?" I asked, not at all in a manner where it suggested I had thought she meant dirty things. Lavi, however, being the immature person he was, snickered.

"Oh, this and that…" It looked like Lavi was about to choke. "Anything you need at all, dear." It was obvious the woman had absolutely no ill intention, and didn't at all have anything dirty in mind, but Lavi's choking was making my face red as thoughts came involuntarily.

"N-no…it's fine, really." I whispered, looking down. I wasn't sure I could look the woman in the face. Now, the girl was laughing too. She looked better when she laughed; I didn't feel so creeped out.

"Mom, maybe you can give them a ride home?" She cut in, her voice also reminding me of Lavi. Her voice was a higher pitch, much more feminine, but wasn't Lavi's voice almost feminine anyways? I swear, she was getting more and more like Lavi. I was starting to wonder if maybe she was Lavi's twin sister that had been hidden away.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" the woman asked, standing up. "Why don't we get you some more tea and some food before we leave, though? After a tumble like that, I'm sure you'd like some refreshments."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. My face reddened more. "Thank you…" I muttered. The woman left the room humming happily, and I looked up hesitantly. I found Lavi staring at me incredulously. "What?"

"You're eating…_more?_" He asked, looking at me like I was some kind of alien.

"Well…yeah." I said, grinning. "After all that dancing and that fight with Kanda, I'm kind of hungry…"

"You're insane. You ate like, half of that table of food!" Lavi exclaimed, leaning up close to me. I blinked, a little uncomfortable with the closeness. I could feel his breath tickling my face. "Hmm…maybe that mark really does have something to do with your appetite." I blinked more rapidly. What on earth was going on through his mind now?

"For your information-"

"That mark has nothing to do with food." The girl cut in, and both Lavi and I jumped in surprise. She was speculating us closely, looking like a psychiatrist pretending to suck in everything her patient was saying. She even had her chin resting on her finger locked hands. A brief image of Mr. Burns flitted through my head.

"You know it?" Lavi asked, suddenly eager. He leaned closer to the girl. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, relaxing a little.

"No. I just know it has nothing to do with food." The girl said, shrugging and leaning back casually. Lavi looked thoroughly disappointed. "Anyways, you guys came from that huge party at…whatever his name's place?"

"Yuu? Yeah. I organized it." Lavi said cheerily, raising his hand. I raised an eyebrow and pulled it down. He gave me a patronizing look, but the girl once again interrupted.

"I almost went to that." She said, almost absently.

"Why didn't you?" Lavi asked, turning away form me. He seemed to have paused for a second, as if pondering whether he should or not, but I took this as my imagination.

"Not allowed. I'm home schooled, so I don't know anyone here, and as a result my mom says it's too dangerous for me to go to a party because I might get made fun of…or something along those lines." She shrugged as if it were no big deal, but a sudden understanding crossed Lavi's features. I, however, was looking at her with solemn respect. Home schooling wasn't necessarily the easiest thing to go through…

"_Allen! Pay attention when I'm talking to you or else we'll never get past this stupid book, and then _I'll_ be the one who has to explain to Mana why you don't even know the story line to _Charlotte's Web_."_

"_Yes, Master…"_

Yes, home schooling definitely wasn't the best thing in the world.

"So that's why I've never seen you around before!" Lavi exclaimed, "I was wondering why I had absolutely no idea who you were. There isn't a face in the high school that I haven't seen and memorized before!"

"You've memorized the faces of everyone in our school?" I asked, cutting in. Lavi looked at me for a mere second before returning his attention to his look alike.

"Yeah, another requirement of the old man's." Lavi said simply. "So, what's your name?"

"Deli. Even though it's spelt D-E-L-I, it's actually pronounced Deeh-lie. My mom made it up when she was unable to think of anything and saw the deli sandwich she had been eating while nursing me. I guess it's an okay name, original and stuff, but I guess I wouldn't mind a normal name either…" she looked like she could talk about her name for a lot longer, but her mother came into the room, carrying a tray of squared sandwiches and another tray with more tea on it.

Being courteous, I stood up, reaching out to help her, but she gave me a frowning look and shook her head. "No, no. You're our guest, you don't need to do anything. Young man, could you please grab this tray?" Lavi looked like he was ready to faint, but he stood up nonetheless and grabbed the tea tray. I stifled a laugh while Deli gave her mother a disapproving look. The woman looked like she, too, wanted to laugh.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," I said kindly, and a little to irk Lavi. He gave me a sharp glare, as if saying 'yeah, for you', and I gave him a cheeky grin.

"This is no problem, dear. We usually get strays like you on Halloween night. It's amazing how many people have fallen down that hill." Lavi and I both blinked in surprise.

"That's why I thought it was so funny," Deli said offhandedly, picking at her nails and completely ignoring the sandwiches. "I get a kick out of how, every time, every year, it never fails for there to be someone who's fallen down that hill."

"Is it always in your yard?" Lavi asked, and Deli shook her head.

"No, we've only had two incidents. However, you usually hear the talk the next day around the neighborhood. It's just that kind of place." She shrugged, and continued working at her nails.

"Yes, it's really rather a pity that so many teenagers are that dense," the woman sighed, resting her chin on her hand. She was staring at me now, a light frown on her features. In order to avoid her gaze and keep from having to talk, I stuffed two of the sandwiches in my mouth at once. Lavi gaped at me, and shook his head when I held out a sandwich to him, looking disgusted. Shrugging, I stuffed that one in my mouth, too. The woman laughed. "Oh, such a hearty appetite!"

"I'm not sure giving him all of that is a good idea…" Lavi said slowly, watching me with a mingle of disgust and concern. "I think he might throw up."

"'O I won'!" I said around the food, and Lavi winced when a little of the food flew at him. Flicking it away, he looked at me with a pointed look.

"Look, there's no such thing as super humans and super appetites, okay? By now your stomach must be completely bloated, and if you eat another one of those sandwiches after everything you've already eaten tonight…" but it was too late. As I swallowed the last of the three sandwiches, just to prove him wrong, I took a fourth and stuffed that one into my mouth.

I was hoping to be gross (having forgotten I was a guest in someone's house and that both women were staring at me with worried expressions), opening my mouth and emphasizing every chew while he talked, but as I swallowed another piece of sandwich, I could feel the disgusting feeling someone experienced when their food wanted to come back up.

I only had time to cover my mouth before all the sandwiches I had eaten, including the unfinished fourth, let themselves pour into my hands. The sticky, warm, chunky feeling of vomit covered not only my hands, but my arms and shirt, dribbling down my chin grotesquely. However, I was unfinished. The smell, so terrible, and the sight of the chewed, acid-covered pieces of sandwich seemed to activate my gag reflexes.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to cover my mouth this time (although that wouldn't have been much help), and soon Lavi found himself drenched in my stomach fluids.

There was a very long, very nasty silence, in which the vomit continued to dribble down my face, hot and sticky and with the worst smell in the world. The taste was revolting—I almost wanted to throw up again. Vomit dripped from Lavi's shirt, arms and legs onto the floor, and he was staring down at himself with a blank look, as if he had not yet fully comprehended what had just happened.

And then there was very loud, very deliberate laughter. I turned my head, stomach fluid and chunks of various foods flying from my face onto the table, and I stared at the two laughing women incredulously. Lavi, also, seemed to wake up. He was now staring in disgust down at himself instead of staring blankly. He seemed to be having a hard time not gagging.

"I think…you two…need a shower…" the woman gasped, clutching at her chest. I looked back towards Lavi, who was now full out glaring at me. I fully agreed.

("…")

"I'm so, so sorry…" I whispered. I had resorted to whispering a while ago, after the woman (who I had discovered was named Alice) had chided me for saying sorry so many times. The purr of the car was the only sound besides my constant whispering, Deli riding in the front with her mother and Lavi half asleep, leaning on me.

I guess it was expected. It was well past midnight now, and it had taken some time for the showers and for our clothes to be washed for us. We had ended up talking and arguing and chasing each other around all over the house (which had been slightly embarrassing, because both of us had only been wearing towels, although I had been wearing a housecoat), and even I was starting to get a little drowsy.

"It was quite the laugh, so I forgive you." Alice said in the front, looking in her rearview mirror at me. I was poking Lavi's head, watching as his eye slowly drifted closed and then opened again whenever I poked him. He didn't seem to really realize what I was doing, or that he was leaning on me, for that matter.

I wasn't sure if I was uncomfortable or not with the current situation. Sure, the fact that I had to lean over in order to keep from straining to sit up had my arm digging into the door, but Lavi was unbelievably warm and, well, soft. His body meshed with mine almost perfectly, his head fitting my shoulder exactly right and his arm not at all digging into my side. As I poked him again, my arm around his shoulders since my other was pinned against the door, I wondered if Lavi would be okay with this if he were actually awake, if he would actually do this willingly.

Then I mentally hit myself for thinking like that.

It wasn't until three pokes later that I realized his eye was no longer opening, and with a heavy sigh I gave up, letting my arm drop completely around him. The feeling that ran through me then was odd, and it hit me so suddenly that I almost gasped aloud.

"So, where exactly was your house?" Deli asked, turning to look at us. She stared at our position for a moment before a small, secretive smile crossed her features. I blushed.

"It's just up ahead, keep going straight…" I muttered, looking away from her knowing gaze. Yet…what exactly did she know? I had an idea, but the thought was quickly shoved away.

"What number?" Alice asked, glancing back again.

"536." I said quietly, and looked down at Lavi's face. He looked so peaceful, as if nothing in the world could phase him. Was he really that tired? I wanted to touch his face, to see just how smooth it was, to make sure the person before me was real…slowly, deliberately, I reached for his face, not fully realizing what I was doing until the car came to a sudden stop. Quickly, I dropped my hand, looking away from Lavi's peaceful features.

He looked so much more different than when he was awake.

"Sorry about that, I didn't see the number until the last minute." Alice said, giving a small laugh. I blinked, looking out the window, and sure enough there was my house. I once again looked back at Lavi, swallowing nervously and trying to forget what I had almost done. Should I wake him up so he could sit up properly? Should I try and get out without waking him?

"This…_is_ the right house, right? For the two of you?" Deli asked, looking back. I looked up, trying not to look guilty, but when I realized what she had said I quickly fixed my features into a kind smile. _For the two of you…?_

"Yes, this is." I said. "Could you…uh…help me get him into the house?" I don't know what I was doing, but at that moment it seemed like the only thing to do. Deli smiled, opening her door and getting out. She opened my door for me, holding Lavi in his leaning position while I slipped out. Together, we gently pulled Lavi out of the car, and he barely stirred as I held him up, my arms wrapped completely around him.

"Here, give me one of his arms." Deli said quietly, taking one of his arms and, with it, half of his weight as she draped it around her neck. Quickly, I draped his other arm around my own neck, and shook Lavi's shoulder gently. If I was lucky, and if he was tired enough, he would wake up just enough to be able to walk a little while still thinking he was dreaming.

"Hmm…?" Lavi's eye didn't open, but his head lifted slightly. "Wuzthetime?"

"It's past midnight." I answered for his benefit, smiling. "Do you think you could walk for me?"

"Hmm…" Lavi hummed gently, and suddenly stumbled forward. Deli and I were quick to support him, and together we stumbled forward into the yard, Lavi taking weak steps as we supported all of his weight. It took a little time, but eventually we got to the door, and I was thankful that Master had decided to leave it unlocked tonight.

As we opened the door, Lavi began to mumble incoherently, his face scrunching up in sudden pain and agony. Was he having a nightmare? Deli looked at him with slight worry, and I gave her a quick, reassuring smile before she could ask any questions. I didn't want her staying here, and I didn't want her touching Lavi any more…

Though the thought shocked me, I didn't take it back this time. That look of pain on his face had raised something in me, and I refused to pretend anymore. "It's okay, I've got him."

"Are you sure?" Deli asked, giving me a doubtful look. I just smiled again, a little more tersely, and she just shrugged, letting go of Lavi completely. The sudden extra weight made me stumble a little, but I was quick to regain my balance. "Just don't murder him by accidentally dropping him down the stairs or anything."

"Yes, of course," I said with another smile. It was much warmer this time, now that she was no longer touching Lavi. "Thank you so much for tonight, and I hope to see you around some time."

"Yeah. I'll see you later." With a small wave and a smile, Deli turned and left, shutting the front door quietly behind her. The sudden silence was eerie, but I ignored it and instead tightened my grip on Lavi, dragging him towards the stairs. The sound of Deli and Alice driving away told me I was completely alone.

Yes, I was completely alone, I realized. Alone with Lavi. Because Master's snores were unheard, and every light was off. Master was out celebrating Halloween in his own way tonight.

Straining under Lavi's weight, I stumbled through the darkness, going purely by memory. "Lavi, we're going up the stairs now," I said quietly when I felt the first stair. Lavi gave a small sound of comprehension, and I cautiously took a step up. When Lavi (very weakly) followed me, I took the next step. We continued in this manner, Lavi continuing to talk incoherently. Every now and then a whimper would escape his lips.

It took much longer to reach my room than it had to get Lavi inside the house, but this was expected, since I had no light and no Deli to help me. opening my bedroom door as quietly as possible in the current circumstances, I brought Lavi to my bed, and thought of this morning (or I suppose it was yesterday morning now), when he had said he wanted to paint my room green.

If it was with him…then maybe I would…

I put Lavi on the bed, flicking on the lamp I had recently bought in order to stay up late to read, and worked on taking off his shoes and hoodie. My cheeks flared as I touched him, holding him close to me in order to pull the hoodie off, and I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. I thought only girls were supposed to get those.

When Lavi was shoeless and hoodie-less, I pulled the blankets off and laid him down, then carefully set the blanket back on the bed so it was completely covering everything but his head. His face was a lot more peaceful now, the mumbling becoming less and less recent. Entranced, I sat on the edge of my bed, wonder filling me that he, Lavi, was actually sleeping in it.

And then, the first coherent word came from his lips. "Angela…"

My heart skipped a beat. Angela? Who was that? Did Lavi have a girlfriend, or…? I shook my head, reprimanding myself. What did it matter to me? Just because I got a little protective over who I considered my closest friend didn't mean I had to get all worried about him having a girlfriend. Yet, I had a funny feeling that I shouldn't have suddenly been feeling…jealous.

Realizing that it really was well past midnight, and that I was completely exhausted, especially after dragging Lavi around, I heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed my face. Knowing it would be a bad idea to slip into my own bed right now, I turned off the light and left my room, closing the door behind me. Tonight, I suppose I would have to pull a Master.

("…")

"Oi, idiot boy, get off the couch!"

I opened my eyes slowly, the sting of daylight making me raise my arm. "Whossat?"

"What do you mean, who's that? Stupid brat…" slowly, as my thought process came back to me as well as my sight, I began to realize who it was.

"Master? Why are you in my room?" I asked, my voice a little rough from sleep and from all the yelling I had done yesterday. Wait…yesterday? What had happened yesterday?

"What the hell do you mean? You're in the goddamn living room, on my goddamn couch! Now get off of it before I smack you!" Master barked, and I blinked a few times as the words sunk in. Then, quickly, I sat up and looked around. Sure enough, I was in the living room, the curtains (oddly) opened and a rare day of sunshine outside. Today was the first of November.

"Oh! Lavi!" I gasped, standing up and running out of the living room. Master's voice followed me up the stairs as he complained about teenaged boys who couldn't even get up the stairs after drinking (I wanted to tell him I had done nothing of the sort, but I had a feeling that he would end up asking me questions or not believing me if I did). I burst through my bedroom door, not sure what I was expecting to find, but was filled with relief when I saw that Lavi was still there, sleeping soundly in my bed.

However, my bed was a mess. Apparently, Lavi was not a still sleeper.

With a small sigh, I dragged my feet to the edge of my bed, sitting down promptly. Now that I was (obviously) sure that Lavi was still here, I would allow myself to feel tired. I wasn't sure what time it was, and I didn't feel like turning to look at my digital clock to find out, but whatever the time was it hadn't been enough time since I had fallen asleep.

It had taken me at least two hours to fall asleep on the rather comfy couch, filled with thoughts about the party and our visit with the two odd, hospitable women, and about all of the odd things that had been happening to me lately. I found it hard to believe that all of this had started just because I had woken up on a Saturday morning thinking it was Friday. As a result of thinking of these things, though, I had gotten much less sleep than Lavi had (and was still getting).

My thoughts were disturbed when Lavi suddenly rolled over, kicking me. Apparently, Lavi was also a very light sleeper when he wasn't still absolutely exhausted, because as soon as he touched me he jumped awake. He stared at me blankly for a few moments, as if he still thought he were dreaming, before slowly his face became a mask of horror.

"Oh my god! Did we…?" He looked around frantically, every moment his face becoming more and more terrified. I frowned in confusion, wondering what on earth he was thinking, when he suddenly turned to look at me sharply. "Are you still a virgin?" he asked, completely serious, and my cheeks reddened completely.

"Y-yes! Don't ask such absurd questions!" I cried out, standing up. Lavi's face flooded with relief, confusing me. Why would he ask…? "Oh god! No, no, no, no, no! NO!"

"What?" Lavi asked innocently, now completely relaxed after having confirmed that we…that we…

"All I did was bring you to my house because you were sleeping and couldn't tell them where you lived and I didn't know where you lived and you looked so peaceful and I wanted to be nice and I wanted you in my bed and oh my god I can't believe you thought of that!" I burst out, cradling my head and pacing my room frantically as I tried to get rid of those thoughts.

"You wanted me in your bed?" Lavi asked, looking completely confused and a little smug. My cheeks turned completely scarlet.

"That's not what I meant!" I quickly defended, but unfortunately that _was_ what I meant. I hadn't meant to _say_ it, though. The words had just come out of my mouth in a run on sentence and I had completely lost track of what I had been saying. Now, I had realized my precious mistake.

"If you say so…" Lavi shrugged, throwing what little of the twisted blankets that were left on him off of him. He stood and stretched, then gave me a sly smirk. "So, wanna cuddle?"

"GET OUT!"

("…")

Great. Just _great_. Master _liked_ Lavi. He thought he was _funny_. He thought Lavi could be some _good_ to me. Just…bloody…_wonderful_…

"And he didn't even do the dishes properly last night he was so out of it!" Master was saying as I poked absently at Tim, who was my only true companion now.

Two whole weeks Lavi had been coming over to my house to talk with Master under the false pretense that he was visiting me. Two weeks I had been humiliated about letting a _guy_ sleep in _my_ bed. Two weeks of having everyone from the Club giving me funny looks and _understanding_ smiles. Understanding _what_, though? Was it understanding of how Lavi could manipulate the people you're living with into torturing you even more, or was it…something _else_?

"Well, I guess that's probably because I told him to be ready for the party that's happening tonight," Lavi said, and I paused in my poking of Tim. That was right, _Tykki_ was having a house party, and Lavi was forcing me to go. When I had gotten home last night in high hopes that Master would forbid me to go (after having successfully made sure Lavi was busy for the next few hours), I had been sourly disappointed when he had full heartedly agreed…with Lavi.

"_Yeah! Go to a party! It'll do some good for you, maybe make you less of a wimp. Maybe then I wont mind you so much."_

Hah, mind _me? I_ was the one who had to mind _him_. Stupid redheaded lion drunkard…Tim bit my finger. I yelped, and then realized I had probably poked the machine too hard, though I wasn't too sure how Tim was supposed to feel that. Then again, Tim also had a completely human mouth, and seemed to have his own personality, as well as the ability to grow and shrink at will.

"So where is this party? Are adults aloud?" Master asked, and I rolled my eyes. Ugh. He was so disgusting, wanting to go to a teenagers only party. Besides that, what as with that buddy-buddy tone with _my_ Lavi?

I paused, thinking over that last part. It wasn't much of a shocker now, now that I had grown used to it. I found myself often calling Lavi _mine_, ever since the Halloween party, and had long since stopped trying to stop myself from thinking it. After all, there was no point trying to lie to myself, was there?

Yet I knew I was still trying.

"Oh, look! It's already five! We have to be there in about an hour. Come on, Allen, let's get you some good clothes to wear…" I glared sharply at the redhead, daring him to try and make me put anything on that I didn't choose myself. Besides that, why should I have to dress up for a party where someone was most likely going to end up throwing up on me?

"I can get my own clothes, and who even said I was going?" I had been saying this since Lavi had arrived, trying to make it clear that I didn't want to go to this party and therefore I wouldn't, but so far it hadn't worked.

"Well, fine then, go get dressed, but be quick about it. We have to pick up Yuu and Lenalee, too." Lavi said happily, obviously amused by my pitiful attempts of trying to say no.

"Shut up…" I muttered, unable to think of anything else to say as I left the room, Tim on my shoulder. I entered my room, plain as usual, and sat on the bed. "What do you think, Tim? Should I bother going to a stupid house party? Do you think I should lighten up a bit?" Tim just stared at me, like usual, unable to say anything. I let out a sigh. "Why bother asking you? Gah! This is so stupid! Why is Lavi making me do this…?"

Tim flew off my shoulder, going for the closet, but I ignored him, burrowing my face in the blankets of my bed. I thought of Kanda, who I had recently taken a (reluctant) liking to, since he was the only person who didn't seem to be making fun of me for letting Lavi sleep in my bed. I had a funny feeling Kanda had done something similar many times before.

Lately, I had been hanging around Kanda, following him around the school with my head down and my hood up, neither of us ever talking and a tense silence always there. He never sent me away, though, for which I was thankful. For some reason, Lavi never approached us when we were together, like we had some kind of unapproachable barrier around us. He seemed almost…bitter, whenever he saw us together.

Sometimes I wondered if it was just because he was being selfish and didn't want us to be around each other because Kanda was _his_ friend, and I wasn't supposed to be making him _my_ friend because we were from two separate versions of his life. Kanda was the one who Lavi confided in, I was the one he used to escape.

Then I just thought I was being stupid and would cast it away. Those weren't Lavi's feelings, they were mine.

Something dropped on my head, and I sat up, surprised to find Tim hovering there. I looked down at the thing that had fallen off of my head, and blinked rapidly. "You want me to wear this?" I asked, holding up the red and black striped shirt, long sleeved and a nice, flexible cotton that fit snuggly to my skin. I had bought it because it was on sale at the only clothing store in town, and it would be a waste to not buy any long sleeved shirt that was on sale.

As Tim flew around the room, I took off the black long sleeved shirt I was wearing and put on the striped one, adjusting everything after having successfully put it on. I stared at the shirt and how it fit, wondering why on earth Tim would want me to look like some dark punk or emo kid. Shrugging, I looked to Tim, who flew back into the closet and came back a moment later with a pair of my tighter fitting jeans, and I sighed.

"Tim…I'm not some loner kid…don't go making me look like one of those guys that girls drool all over just because they look moody and mysterious." I muttered, grabbing my white hoodie. Tim hit me on the head with his tail. "Ow! What was that for?!"

He dropped the pants on the bed, and then took my hoodie in his teeth, pulling on it. I let it go, and Tim immediately dropped the hoodie, instead coming straight for me.

"H-hey! Go away! What are you doing?!" I yelled out, trying to swat him away, but he grabbed a firm hold on a large stand of hair with his teeth, yanking—hard. Yelling out, I fell sideways, right onto the bed, and right on top of the pants. "Okay, okay! I'll put them on! It's your fault if people start making fun of me, though!"

I had a feeling that the little bob Tim did was a sign of triumph. Had he been watching too much TV or something, trying to make me look like this?

A few minutes later, I was looking at myself in the mirror, wishing I didn't have such a pushy robot for a pet. In my opinion, I looked absolutely stupid. The jeans were way too tight, a lot tighter than I remembered them, and this shirt showed too much of what was underneath. Also, leather gloves really didn't go well with an outfit like this.

"Allen! are you ready?" The voice was right outside the bathroom, and I jumped. Scrambling to make it look like I had just finished going to the washroom, I flushed the toilet and turned on the tap for a few seconds, then opened the door cheerfully. Lavi blinked down at me, looking over my outfit before a sly smile took over his features. "Nice look."

"Sh-shut up…" I muttered, blushing. Lavi shrugged, patting me on the top of the head.

"It looks good. You look like all those kids that girls love these days. Who knows, maybe you'll score something tonight."

That definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear.

("…")

Too loud. That was the first thing I had decided when I had arrived here.

That, and one party was good enough for me to last a year.

Two parties in two weeks was too much.

Lavi, however, definitely thought otherwise. I watched in disgust as he was sandwiched by two of the girls who went to our school, moving in such ways that if I were in his position, I'd be either blushing or trying to get them away from me. Beside me was Kanda, who looked just as upset as I did about the party. Lenalee had long left with her friends, smiling and laughing.

"Why're you even here?" I asked lamely over the music, and Kanda suddenly snapped to attention. A hint of red appeared in his cheeks as he looked away from wherever he had been staring. Curious, I followed where his gaze had been, but the only person I recognized in that direction was Lenalee.

"Because the stupid rabbit wouldn't let me do anything else." He replied, looking away from me. "He said he'd…" Kanda trailed off, shaking his head. "Just shut up, stupid bean sprout."

My teeth snapped together. "It's _Allen_!"

"Yeah, whatever. Bean Sprout sounds better." Kanda snapped, and then stood up and walked off. Well, there went that escape.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" I blinked in surprise and looked over, and was even more surprised when I found the pirate girl from before. Her eyes were trailing after Kanda, and I wondered if she had been waiting for him to leave all this time. Smiling, unsure of myself, I stood up and looked down at myself awkwardly. As if she knew what I was concerned about, she leaned over and said into my ear, "You look cute as a loner."

Blushing, I stepped away from her, looking down at the (now rather disgusting) ground. "Thanks," I muttered, though I didn't think she could hear me.

"My name's Mei Ling, by the way." The girl said, giving me a bright smile. "You might want to move…I think that guy's going to spill his drink…" I looked over, where a man was precariously leaning over the counter, but his drink wasn't anywhere near him. Confused why she would think he would knock it over, I was about to turn back to the girl, but suddenly the guy fell over, right onto his drink, and I only just avoided it.

"Ah, sorry man!" The guy said, giving me a smile that didn't really say he was sorry as he picked himself up and wiped up the drink. Mei Ling was looking at him disapprovingly, and then gave me a small smile.

"See?"

"How'd you guess that?" I asked, furrowing my brow. She tapped her temple.

"Psychic," she winked and then held her hand out. "So, do you want to dance?" I stared at her hand for a long moment, frowning and weighing my options. Should I even bother trying to dance when I knew I couldn't at all? Hadn't she caught on to that at the Halloween Party, when I had stumbled all over her feet? "You don't have to, if you don't want to, you know." Her hand faltered, closing before falling back to her side. She was giving me a concerned, slightly worried smile.

"Oh, no! I…I can…" I could tell she saw that I was being reluctant, and she gave me a small smile.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine." She said gently, and was about to turn away, but I quickly caught her hand. Her cheeks burned bright red, but she stayed put.

"D-do you…uh…want to have a drink with me?" I asked lamely, letting go of her hand. I didn't want to make her feel bad. Immediately, her face brightened.

"Sure!" She said, and looked at the chairs surrounding the bar. The two that were empty were covered in beer from the guy who had spilled his. "Uh…do you maybe want to go somewhere else?"

"Yeah, alright." I said, not even thinking about it. I turned to the bar, waving the bartender over. I was a little nervous—this was my first time drinking. The bartender came over, and I turned back to Mei Ling. "What do you want?"

"Uh…Budweiser's good. Wild Cat's a little strong, but that's good, too." She shrugged. "I guess we should probably stick to slightly lighter, though, so Budweiser."

"Two Budweiser, please." I thought my voice was going to crack. What was I doing? I didn't drink! Especially not when I lived with the meaning of alcoholic. I glanced over to where everyone was dancing, and saw Lavi looking at me. I gave him a timid smile, but he didn't return it, instead paying attention to the two girls who were, surprisingly, still sandwiching him. I felt like throwing up.

Either that, or going over there and tearing those two girls' hair out.

"Uh…are you okay…?" Mei Ling was waving her hand in front of my face, and when she looked over at where Lavi was dancing, she gave me a small frown. "Starting fights isn't really a good idea."

"How'd you…?" I began, but she just tapped her temple. I gave a weak smile. "Where do you want to go?" I asked, having realized that she was already holding one of the beers, the other sitting on the counter waiting (was it really?) for me.

"You wanna go upstairs? I think every other seat down here is taken. This guy must be _really_ rich to have his own bar and bartender…" Mei Ling said, looking around the house in awe. I didn't find it half as fascinating as Kanda's huge house, where he even had a spare piano. That place was also much more peaceful, and wasn't the home to a sadistic creep.

Thinking about the piano made me think of a recent conversation I had had with Kanda.

"_Hey, why do you have a piano in your house?"_

"_Why were you in there?!"_

"_I walked into it when I was trying to run away from a couple of crazy fourteen year olds."_

"_Keh. Whatever."_

"_That's not an answer…"_

"_What does it matter to you?"_

"_Well…it's kind of weird for someone like you to have a piano room, so it must belong to your mother, right?"_

"…"

"_What?"_

"_It's my father's."_

After that, I was unable to get anything else out of the stubborn, feminine boy. He had just glared at me and told me to shut up, saying that if I bugged him anymore then he wouldn't let me follow him around like some kind of puppy anymore. Though I hadn't liked the puppy comment, I had obliged. I didn't want to be alone.

"This looks nice." Mei Ling said, pointing to the inside of what looked like a guest room. It was the classical set up, with the usual paintings of pleasant scenery and a single color scheme, which for this room was a forest green with a blue-green mixture. The bed was enormous, and looked like it was as soft as if it was completely made of feathers and pillows. Like an excited five year old, Mei Ling ran up to the bed and jumped on it.

Laughing lightly, I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me. A small love seat was in the corner, the same forest green as the blankets and the walls, and I took a seat there. It was probably as comfy as the bed was.

"So what's your name, anyways?" Mei Ling asked, no longer having to yell. The music was extremely muffled, the only sound being the amazing power of the bass for this stereo system. This house was definitely sound proof.

"Ah, I guess I forgot to introduce myself, huh? My name's Allen." I said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Mei Ling."

"Pleasure's all mine," she giggled. "I'm surprised someone like you goes to our school, though." The way she was looking at me, I thought she meant my eye, but was relieved when she continued. "I mean, you're like a model or something. The only people I thought were that gorgeous all go to that stupid club, and are all completely unapproachable." Her face turned dark for a moment, and then she suddenly looked worried. "I mean, I don't think they're bad or anything…! I know you go to that club, or else you wouldn't be with Yuu Kanda, and I know that Lavi and Lenalee are _really_ nice and everything, and…oh…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!"

"Don't worry about it, really." I said, waving it off. "I'm not offended at all. I only just joined the club a couple of months ago, so I'm still pretty new to it. I'm not really accustomed to the way they do things yet." Had it really already been two months? Where had the time gone?

"Still…I'm really sorry…I didn't mean to offend you…" Mei Ling whispered, biting down on her lip. I would've said more, maybe tried to get a real conversation going in order to take us out of this awkward situation, but the door suddenly burst open, the music almost deafening. I wasn't really surprised to see two people making out as they backed into the room, but I _was_ surprised when I saw that it was Tykki, the blonde haired girl he was currently sucking the face off of completely wrapped up in his limbs. They stumbled and fell on the floor, and laughter erupted from them.

"Maybe we should leave," I whispered, standing up and preparing to go around the couple, but Tykki looked up at that moment, and as soon as he caught sight of me his eyes turned malicious. Instead of saying anything, his eyes strayed to the door, and I followed his gaze, unsure of why there was a sudden constricting feeling in my chest.

There, across the hall, was Lavi, wrapped up in one of the girls he had been dancing with. Such strong emotions ran through me at that moment, and I felt like running into the bathroom and throwing up. Maybe that would get rid of the churning in my stomach and the burning hate I felt not for Lavi, but for the girl.

"Hello, boy." Tykki's voice brought me back from my burning hate, and my eyes snapped to him. I tried to compose my features, which probably looked ugly at that moment, but I was unable to constrict these feelings. "You look…irked."

"Allen, are you okay?" Mei Ling asked, still on the bed. Tykki looked to her as if bored, and rolled his eyes. As if she were a doll, he pushed the blonde off of him. She didn't seem to notice, now staring at a wall. Her whole face was red, and it was obvious she had been drinking a lot that night. What time was it now, anyways? How long had we been here for?

"Girl, she looks like she's going to throw up, why don't you take her to the washroom." It was not a question, it was a demand. Mei Ling looked Tykki in the eyes hard for a long moment, before suddenly backing down, turning a pale color. Without a word, she got up and helped the blonde out of the room.

Tykki stood, slow and deliberate, and shut the door behind them with a deafening click. The music cut off immediately. I got one last glance at Lavi before the door shut, and more hatred burned in me. This time, it was followed by betrayal.

It was getting harder and harder to deny it now…

"So, are you enjoying the party, boy?" Tykki asked, his words almost purring like a cat. How could his voice still sound so pleasant when he was so evil? "Or are you feeling…alone?" He knew what he was doing, that much was for sure. "Of course, you should have known Lavi would eventually start to ignore you. After all, you're just his toy."

_You're just his toy…_

"Shut up." I whispered.

"You're a pretty useless boy, you know. After all, aren't you the cause of _their_ deaths?" Tykki whispered, coming closer to me. I said nothing, closing my eyes. Their deaths were not my fault. They weren't. Tykki's voice was now directly in my ear, his breath tickling my lobe. "All Lavi sees in you is amusement, something to play with until he grows bored…you're nothing to him, not even worth a dime. Why pay attention to you, save you, if all you are is a stupid…useless…murderer?"

"Shut up…" I said, louder this time. A lump was growing in my throat. _Mana…Mana…Mana…I didn't kill you, Mana!_

"Oh, are we getting somewhere now?" He was enjoying himself way too much. "Did you know, that boy, that friend of yours…_Narain_…he never even got a proper burial, and his _best friend__e never even he_ didn't even come to say goodbye to him after his death. Of course…how do we know it wasn't your fault to begin with?"

"Shut up!" I yelled out, backing away. I opened my eyes, fisting my hair and shaking my head in denial as I stared at Tykki, trying not to let him become blurry, trying to hold back the tears that were now threatening to fall. How could he possibly know about Narain? How could he possibly know anything about me, or my connections to any of these people?

"_I never legally adopted you, you know, Allen. Technically, you don't exist to me…"_

I had no connection to Mana, or Cross, or Narain, or any of them. My name was not on paper on anybody's legal documents. I didn't exist to Mana…I didn't exist to him…

"_Of course, that's only on paper, because I'm not sure I would ever be able to say you don't exist to me. Right now, you are my everything. It's impossible for anyone to say you don't exist."_

Yes, I did, and I had to exist to Lavi, too. Even if I was just his tool right now, if I worked hard enough, couldn't I become something more?

"Why don't you just give up? Why don't you just…disappear? Wouldn't that be better for everyone? No one likes you. They all want you gone. Don't you realize that?" the door opened, and someone poked their head in. Who was that?

Fou?

To her, yes, it would be much better if I didn't exist, because I had hurt her…but even so, didn't the fact that I was able to hurt her mean that I _was_ important? If I was able to make such feelings stir inside of her, didn't that mean that I was at least important to _her_?

She had left, closing the door behind her, but it had not been a look of bitter resentment that she had left with. In fact, it had been the first time in a long time that she had shown any sort of concern for me. She had left with an extremely worried expression. Was she going to go and get Lavi…? No, I didn't want him here.

The fiery hate that rose up in me at that moment, the image of Lavi wrapped up in that girl in my head, was the reason I was able to suddenly look at Tykki, full in the eye, allowing all of the rage to pour out of me. "SHUT UP!" I yelled, releasing my hair and running at him. The door opened at that moment, three people running inside.

I wasn't too sure what happened next, but there was a lot of flailing limbs. In all of the confusion, I felt my first connect with someone's face twice, and it was Tykki's voice that cried out each time. Satisfaction filled me despite the fact that my hand ached from connecting with his face, and when I was finally separated from the confusing tangle of limbs, I got a look at what I had done.

Tykki was being held back by Fou, who looked extremely grim, and blood was dribbling down his nose. There was a small black circle already forming around his right eye, and even more satisfaction filled me. Then I noticed that someone was holding me back. I fell limp, so that they would know that I was no longer going to try and attack anyone.

"Jesus, Allen, what the hell were you thinking?" And then I stopped cold. It was Lavi. Lavi was holding me back, my back against his warm, comfortable chest. My teeth snapped together, and I pulled away.

"Leave me alone." I snapped, shoving away from him. I didn't look at him as I left, passing by Kanda, who had been the third person to enter. He watched me go with a grim satisfaction, and I felt like slapping him. What did he know?

"Allen…?" the call was weak, half-hearted. I didn't look back as I left the room, not even when Fou called my name louder than Lavi, and I didn't stop. I shoved past everyone in my way, even when I saw Leo and Jean, who both suddenly lit up when they saw me. For a moment, I thought of chiding them for being under aged for this party, but left it alone, not in the mood. If I talked to anyone right now, it was very possible for them to end up like Tykki.

When I got outside, I took a random direction. I didn't even pay attention to that. All I did was focus on settling my anger. I think it was the fastest I had ever walked.

What right did Tykki have to talk to me about Mana? What right did he have…to talk about Narain? Narain…the only one who had been able to understand my feelings after Mana had died. We had become mutual friends for our own reasons, and no one bothered us in our grief. It was all for the better, in the end.

I found myself walking towards a convenience store, the lights all on and a neon 'open' sign lit in the front window. I felt the inside of my too tight pockets for any money, and pulled out a toonie. Two dollars was enough, wasn't it? At least for a one liter pop or something.

The door jingled as I entered, a pleasant sound compared to the vehement thoughts swirling around in my head. With a brief, sharp nod to the clerk, I hurried to the end of the store that held the drinks, being as brief as possible as I looked for what I wanted. Something cheap, less than two dollars, and something that I liked.

"Hey, didn't think I'd see you around here." I jumped, looking round, and was surprised to find none other than Deli. She was smiling at me, but it quickly turned to a frown when she saw my expression. Though she looked so much like Lavi, it was a relief to see her face. She didn't know anything about the high school, or about Lavi or Tykki or Kanda or Lenalee or Fou. She was an outsider, like me, but she wasn't being so suddenly shoved into everything.

"Hey," I said weakly, and then looked back at the drinks. I looked down at my measly toonie, frowning at my lack of choice. What I actually wanted, a Sobe, was well over two dollars.

"Only a toonie?" Deli asked, frowning. I smiled weakly again.

"Yeah, that's all I really have…" I sighed gently, and Deli smiled.

"What do you want?" She asked. I pointed to the Sobe bottles sluggishly, and Deli opened the door to the bottles and grabbed one. With a small smile, she walked off, and I quickly followed after her.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Buying you a drink. Is that a bad thing?" She asked innocently, and looked me over. "Nice outfit, by the way. We look like twins."

That was true enough, except she still looked more like Lavi. She was wearing a black, small hoodie, unzipped and showing a black and purple striped shirt, a pair of black jeans even tighter than mine on. "You really don't have to do that…" I muttered as we reached the counter. She just shrugged, placing the drink on the counter and giving the clerk a small smile.

"I feel like it. Besides, it's not like I see anybody I know very often. Especially not someone my age." As she paid for my drink and her own items, she kept her eyes focused in front of her, not looking at me. She didn't even look at me as we left the store, into the rather chilly air.

"Thanks," I whispered when she handed me my drink. This time, she did look at me.

"You're welcome, silly." She said, ruffling my hair. My cheeks reddened.

"How am I being silly?" I demanded, shoving her hand away. She laughed.

"You're acting all shy, when I saw you running around my house in a housecoat and throw up all over my table. I don't know, I guess I just kind of expected you to act a little less formal after all of that." The smile she gave me, so cheerful and annoying, reminded me of Lavi a little too much. I looked away, staring hard at the sidewalk. We were standing in front of the store, both slightly leaning away from each other.

"A-are you going home?" I asked, trying to pretend I had seen something interesting.

"Nope. My mom's gone for the next few days on a business trip, so I don't really have anything to do. I decided going out for a stroll in the middle of the night seemed like fun, so…here I am." Deli waved her arm out in a circle, then placed the hand on her hip. All I thought was, _Lavi would do something like that_.

I needed to get Lavi out of my head.

"Hey, do you want to do something with me?" I asked, looking up into her face again. I focused only on the differences between her and Lavi instead of the great deal of similarities. I needed to concentrate.

"Yeah, sure, what'd you have in mind?" She looked a little surprised by the sudden notion, but not at all displeased. In fact, she looked like she could jump around and do a silly dance she was so happy.

"Actually…I don't have anything in mind. I just need to do something." I shrugged sheepishly, giving her a small grin.

"Oh, well, in that case, why don't we just walk in a random direction until we find something to do? There must be _something_ worth doing even this late at night…" She didn't look at me as she said this, instead looking around as if the answer would be right there. "How about we start walking in that direction?"

"No!" I snapped, going rigid. When she gave me a slightly frightened, surprised look, I was quick to regain my composure. "Uh, let's not go that way. I just came from that way. There's nothing over there." Though she gave me a suspicious look, she shrugged and turned around.

"Alright, then we can go this way." She stated firmly, heading off with a sturdy march. I smiled, running after her.

"You're pretty good at that." I said, examining how straight her arms were, and how they went exactly breast-pocket high. It was like watching someone from the army. Her steps were measured and sturdy as well.

"My mom made me go to army school for a year, but when I complained too much she pulled me out and started home schooling me. She said it was her only choice, since I was too much trouble for any kind of public or private school." Her arms stopped swinging back and forth, and her pace became less measured as she changed into a casual walk.

"Army school? Sounds tough." I said absently, looking around at the houses. Deli laughed.

"I guess, if you're easy to intimidate and stuff. The only reason I didn't like it was because I couldn't have my hair a certain length and I had to wear a stiff uniform instead of my own choice of clothing." I couldn't see how she could complain about stiff, considering how tight her current clothes were. "I made a few friends, but my Officer in Command or whatever you call them had a real grudge against me for stealing her boyfriend away."

"You did something like that?" I asked incredulously, looking at her again. She didn't seem like a boyfriend stealer. Then again, to steal a boyfriend you didn't really have to do anything, they just had to like you more.

"Well, not on purpose. We just started talking, since we had the same time to do look out on a field trip, and after that we started hanging out. We never _did_ anything, he never even asked me out, we were just really good friends. Gradually he just stopped hanging out with his girlfriend so he could hang out with me, even though I told him not to." Deli was still so carefree, not even a hint of guilt or sadness or nostalgia. She remained completely unaffected by her story, as if she were just telling a plotline for a movie.

"Did you ever…_want_ to?" I asked, not really comfortable with the question but still curious.

"Me? Sometimes, but it was just that usual longing teenagers can get for someone else's touch. I didn't really _like_ him like that. He was just someone cool to hang out with. He, however, seemed to really want that kind of stuff. He tried to make a move on me three times. It was pretty funny, too, because the first time he tried it was at the school dance, and we were all dancing in the…"

_Just that usual longing…_

Did teenagers usually have a longing for someone else's touch? Was that all it was, just a longing? Could you feel it for anyone? Did it happen if you were around someone for too long?

"Agh! Too many questions!" I cried out, cradling my head in frustration. How could so many questions be derived from one stupid little statement?

"What do you mean? About the school? The dance? Or how the hell he was able to actually get his hand on my ass?" Deli asked curiously, and I blinked, dropping my hands immediately. I had forgotten she was telling her story. I hadn't even heard a word of it.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, please continue." I said, giving her a quick, what I was hoping to be reassuring, smile.

"Okay…" she sounded doubtful, raising an eyebrow, but when I continued to smile at her she just shrugged and continued on with her story. This time, I made sure to listen to what she was saying, giving the appropriate responses where necessary. She didn't stop for a long time, describing all three of the incidents, though I was sure she had ended up going into a fourth explanation, or just retelling one of the incidents. The whole time I got the feeling she was just trying to keep me happy.

I was a little surprised when I realized we had gone into a long silence, and had long since stopped walking. When had that happened? Hadn't I just been sympathizing with her about perverted boys? "Uh…what are we doing?"

"You didn't hear a single word I just said, did you?" Deli whispered, looking away from me. A small smile was on her features. A sad smile.

"Of course I did. You were just telling me about the camping trip, and…" but I trailed off, noticing the way her smile suddenly became stretched and strained.

"No I wasn't. I was talking about you." She whispered, turning away from me. "I was talking about your face, and the way your facial expressions always change whenever I say Lavi's name," she said, a little louder. "Anyways, this is good, isn't it?" For a second, I thought she meant something completely different, but then I noticed that she was pointing to an outdoor pool. We had somehow made our way to one of few hotels that were here, and currently every light was off and the pool was closed.

"Uh…" What did I say? Just go along with her sudden subject change, or apologize for not paying attention?

…_the way your facial expressions always change whenever I say Lavi's name…_

"Well, it'll probably be a little cold, but since it's a pool and not a lake it'll probably be warm enough." Deli continued, as if I had not said anything at all. I smiled lightly.

"Alright, sure." I whispered. The smile she gave me was genuine, and I found it easy to smile with her this time.

"Come on, then. First thing's first; we've got to climb the fence." She pointed happily to the fence, which was well over our heads, and I frowned. I didn't particularly like things like this.

"Ladies first." I held out my arm in a butler like fashion, giving a small bow. Deli giggled, and I was surprised when she headed for the fence with a running start, jumping onto the metal wires and pulling herself up then over the fence and onto the other side. It was like watching one of those movies where everyone was chasing everyone over fences.

I climbed the fence a lot slower than Deli had, but made it over nonetheless, finding Deli already half undressed. I blushed, automatically turning away from her. "Don't be so timid, Allen." Deli called with a giggle, and I winced. Maybe she was a little too open for me. What else was I supposed to do? She was getting undressed, and she was doing it in front of a complete stranger.

My going on a whim was starting to seem like a very bad idea.

"Come on, you've got boxers on under those pants, don't you?" Deli asked, suddenly beside me. I jumped, and looked at her, but was quick to look away again. She was only wearing her under garments. The was a loud, exasperated sigh, and suddenly she was unzipping my hoodie, taking it off for me.

"I-I can do that myself," I muttered, unsure of what I was doing anymore. I wasn't used to things like this. Any other guy would probably be in heaven right now, but all I felt was awkward and out of place. I hadn't really expected Deli to be this kind of person, and how that it was turning out this way I was really starting to wish I had just gone home instead of asking if she wanted to do something.

"Alright, if you say so," Deli gave me a small smile, backing up a little and watching me. I felt a little too self conscious with her staring at me like that, and turned away. She laughed. Trying to be quick, I pulled my shirt up, but it was so tight that it didn't really get very far before I had to adjust my position. I pulled my arms through the sleeves instead, taking it off that way, but when I heard the loud gasp I realized my mistake.

Not only my mistake in letting her take me to a pool, but my mistake in even thinking I could do anything with someone without something like this happening and everything being ruined.

"Wh-what happened to your arm?" Deli gasped, and I turned toward her awkwardly, feeling the blood rushing from my face. A sudden terror filled my chest, and I found it difficult to breath. Her face was absolutely terrified, and there was a hint of disgust there. "Was it a fire…?" She seemed hesitant to ask, as if she didn't actually want to know; she just wanted to leave. The grotesque, blackened arm I had received clenched its fist, and the long, disgusting nails that grew on it dug into the palm. No blood came out.

"No…" I whispered, and her face grew more disgusted and less terrified.

"You know what, I think I need to get home…" She whispered, and ran past me to where her clothes were. I watched her as she scrambled to throw them on, not moving an inch. How stupid could I possibly be? Slowly, the emotion drained from me. Wasn't something like this expected in the end? I wasn't normal, I wasn't worthy. I wasn't the person who got friends or led a normal life. I was destined to be miserable, and cursed.

After all, I had been the one to make that fate for myself.

I was an idiot for letting anyone get to me, to let myself think I actually had friends and that everything would be alright. Of course I still had this curse, this dark cloud looming over me, never to disappear. I had been a fool to think that it would all just vanish. Just because of a happy smile and the illusion of friendship, I had cast aside this curse as if it were nothing, I had forgotten it.

I would never forget it again.

Deli's face, so terrified and disgusted, would most likely stay burned into my memory.

It was a while before I realized that I was wet, and that I was alone. Was it raining? Yes. Almost numb, I pulled my shirt back on. It wasn't like that would do much, though. I would probably be sick in the morning, but that was the least that I deserved for forgetting who I was. Slowly, like a machine, I made my way to where Deli had thrown my hoodie, picking it up and then heading for the fence. I didn't even pull myself up an inch before I gave up.

My body went limp, and I leaned against the fence, my forehead digging into the cold, wet wires. A stream of water ran from my forehead down to my nose, where it then fell onto the grass, _plunk, plunk, plunk_.

_Death._

_Death._

_Death._

The sound of the rain hitting the pavement mixed together with the memory, a memory of death and despair.

_Mana._

_Mana._

_Mana._

The sound was somehow comforting, despite the fear that tingled deep in my stomach from the memory of that night, so long ago now. The night that I had received this arm, that I had been cursed, that I had learned so many things yet lost so much knowledge of the person I loved most.

Because it had all been burned away by those penetrating, dead eyes.

The sound of the rain hitting against the water in the pool was louder than everything else, and I lifted my head deftly, looking at the surface of the pool. The water hitting it was like a shimmer of light, the only light among all else, not even the street lights entering my vision anymore. Only the pool was in my vision now.

And it slowly began to turn red.

And redder.

And redder.

And redder.

I wasn't sure if I screamed or not, and I wasn't even aware that my body was on the ground, that I was staring blankly at the pool, which was so, so red.

I was aware of nothing. I couldn't think. My mind had halted, blank with fear and agony and rage beyond imagination.

And then, a ray of light from the heavens, shining down on me, judging me.

Or was that a flash light? Had a security guard come? Slowly, my mind began to bring reality back to my vision, the pool no longer such a deep red, the light from the street lamps barely visible through the thick rain. It really was pouring. I was completely numb, and for the first time I was aware of how unbelievably cold I was.

"Allen, is that you?" And then a surge of happiness shot through me like a bullet. I almost smiled, laughed, danced. Why did that voice make my heart speed up so much? Why did I love the sound of it so much? Why did it suddenly seem like everything would be fine?

_No, go away. I can't forget any more. I can't._

But the sound was so intoxicating!

_He betrayed you!_

He was himself. He was Lavi. Lavi was Lavi and there was nothing in the world that I would rather him be. Not even Mana. No matter what he did, it was _him_, and even if I didn't like it, I didn't want him to be anything else.

"La…vi…" I whispered, and found the strength to push myself back up. The beam of the flashlight got closer, until Lavi's worried face came into view. Immediately, his expression turned to one of relief.

"Allen!" He cried out, running the rest of the way until he was right in front of me. He looked just as soaked as I did.

"Lavi…?" I muttered, cocking my head to the side. "Why're you here?"

"You idiot!" Lavi snapped, but even though he sounded angry his face broke into a smile. "You ran off like that and when I called your house Cross said you hadn't come home, so I had to come and find you! I was-" but here he stopped. His smile faltered, and his voice turned slightly bitter. No one but me could have noticed that it had. No one; except for maybe Kanda. "Everyone was worried about you."

"Thanks…" I muttered, blushing as I realized that I had made a mess. By now, Lavi was crouching down so that he was level with me. "Did you come alone?"

"No, Fou and the others are out looking in other places. I only knew to come here because Deli said you were this way. She looked pretty shaken, so I came as fast as I could…Allen, what's wrong?" But I couldn't answer him. Deli's name had reminded me of what had just happened. For a brief moment, I had gone back to the Allen who had friends, I had been so intoxicated by Lavi's voice, his face, his emotions…

"I think…I think I want to go home." I whispered. Lavi frowned.

"I would think so, too. It's pouring out here. Jesus, you're going to catch pneumonia or something if you stay out here. Come on." Lavi stood up, and held his hand out to me. I stared at it, contradicting myself in an internal battle, until I raised a hand and took his firmly. I took heavy notice of the fact that I was wearing my gloves; no matter how much I couldn't allow myself to get lost in my friendship with him, no matter how harsh my fate may be, even if I already knew that I could never truly be Lavi's friend, I still didn't want to see his face in such a state as Deli's.

"Thank you." I said again, allowing him to drape my arm over his shoulder. Together, we walked the long way around to where the gate to the fence had been opened. Lavi didn't explain this, but I didn't bother asking. "Why didn't you put a coat on or something? You can't lecture me about getting pneumonia when you're in the exact same state as I am."

"Huh?" Lavi asked, looking at me blankly. I knew he had heard me, but I was guessing that he just wasn't going to let me worry about him.

"Thank you." I said again, instead of persisting in lecturing him about a jacket. Lavi just smiled, tightening his arm that had made itself around my waist. I couldn't really remember when he had done that. Thankful, more than he could ever know, I leaned a bit more weight on him, allowing my sudden exhaustion to take over.

We walked for a long time. After a while, I began to lose track of what street we were on, and soon I was completely lost, but Lavi continued on his course firmly. The rain was so thick that I wasn't sure how he was able to know where he was going. The silence between us was both awkward and comfortable, where I felt like I needed to say something but at the same time felt like it didn't really matter if I did. I was a little surprised that it was Lavi who actually broke the silence.

"Hey, Allen…who's Narain?" The name sent a cold shiver of fear down my spine. Had Fou told him, had she been listening longer than I had thought?

"He…used to be my best friend." I whispered, closing my eyes. It would help if I couldn't see Lavi's face. "I didn't meet him until after…Mana died. I can't even remember how exactly we met, but we got along immediately by some weird connection that I can't explain. Later, when we were talking, I learned that his sister, the only person he had left in the world, had died recently, just like Mana.

"I think it was after that that we became inseparable, always standing up for each other and making sure the other was always okay. We never really talked, like you and I do, or hang out and do fun stuff, go out to an amusement park or on hikes or anything like that. We just stayed at one or the other's house, or went for the same walk along the same trail.

"Eventually…Narain got sick. He got sicker and sicker, and there was never any signs of him getting better. He had it worse than I did, see? I was used to being alone, with no family members, no one to confide in or talk to, and I still even had Master, even if he is a shitty example of a guardian. Narain had _no one_. He was living off of the money left to him from his grandparents, and support from child services and welfare. He refused to get adopted and live with strangers. He was completely alone…except for me…

"I couldn't do anything for him. What words of comfort could I give someone if I couldn't even comfort myself? I would just feel like a hypocrite. So instead I just watched him grow sicker, and I had even been the one to call an ambulance when he collapsed in front of me. I never saw him after that. The last memory I have of him was him being strapped into a stretcher and put in an ambulance. All he did was thank me."

I couldn't say anymore past the tears that were falling. Thinking about Narain was too painful. Whenever I thought of him, I thought of myself, and thought of how that should have been me. Narain should have continued living. It also reminded me of how selfish I was, and how lucky I was. I still had someone, no matter how cruel he was, yet Narain had had no one. And I hadn't even gone with him to his death bed, hadn't even visited him while he was in the hospital. I had been too scared.

And I couldn't possibly tell Lavi this. I would be too ashamed.

"So you did have a life before this, huh?" Lavi's voice was light, joking, and completely different from what I thought it would be. How could he be so casual when I had just told him how my best friend had died? "Well, I guess I should have expected that. I mean, you couldn't have been completely alone for the past however many years since Mana's death."

The way he said Mana's name so casually, it was oddly comforting. Any one else and I would have slapped them, but hearing Lavi say his name so easily and lightly only made me comforted. I felt like he was trying to say everything would be okay, instead of putting his name to shame and dishonoring it. Lavi wasn't that kind of person, after all. Not to me.

_You give him too much praise._

I did, didn't I? Even though only a couple of minutes ago (was it a couple of minutes or a half an hour?) I had been saying I couldn't get too close to him, I couldn't allow myself to get lost in friendship again so I wouldn't forget, I found myself telling Lavi a secret I had never told any one else. Why?

It really was impossible to ignore it now. Why not just embrace it, love it, stop being ashamed of it? There was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, it wasn't like this was something _anyone_ could control.

"Well, we're here." Lavi said, and I looked up. We were in front of his jeep.

_Lavi…towards you…_

"Did you have any drinks tonight?" I asked, half jokingly. Lavi smirked.

_Towards you, I…_

"Only one, and it was only because one of those girls forced me to. Man, were they ever close! I was starting to get really annoyed, but whatever. I can't ruin my reputation now, can I?" He winked, obviously joking, but I felt a little better. He hadn't liked them being so close.

_No matter how much I try to deny it…_

"Well, I guess one drink is okay." I shrugged, then blinked. "Oh yeah! I forgot about Mei Ling! I hope she's okay…I didn't even _open_ that beer…"

_I'm pretty sure…_

"_You_ were going to drink? _And_ score with a girl? Wow! Man, I wish I could have seen that!" Lavi laughed as he watched me get into the passenger seat. I watched him go around the jeep, watching as the rain saturated his already soaked, deep red hair. The entire time he went around, and as he got into the jeep, his smile never left his face.

_I love you._

End Chapter

A/N: YAY! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Praise me, for I have done it! And early, too!

Oh yes, there's a couple of things I wanted to mention. 1. I'm sorry Deli wasn't an original character, but there is _no one_ who is pretty much exactly like a feminine Lavi, so I had to do an OC. There was no other way I could portray the character I wanted for this chapter in order to get the right reactions out of Allen, especially for the pool scene, because even though I didn't _write_ it and have Allen conscious of it, I think you all should get the feel that the entire time he was with her he felt like he was somehow with Lavi.

2. I hope the party wasn't too much. I kind of felt like it was, but after reading through it I decided it worked, and I hope you thought it worked, too. I had a lot of trouble mostly with the scene with Tykki…Oh, and if you're wondering, _all_ of my writing is off the top of my head, and absolutely nothing is planned out except for random ideas that pop into my head during class, so I still don't even know half of Allen's past, and most of Lavi's. Sorry. I hope you liked that I added Narain in there, too. XD

3. For those of you who didn't notice or know, I started a thing called Fate: Intermissions. The only thing it really has similar to this story is Lavi and Allen and their times together in this story. Nothing from the intermissions (which only have one chapter, or _maybe_ two, from any random cross over I choose) will be mentioned or thought of or foreshadowed or anything in this story. They're just silly, random one shots that I'll write whenever I feel like writing something different for a bit. If you'd like, check it out. The first one isn't the best, just a test to see if anyone will like it.

One last thing: REVIEW! I love them, they make me happy inside. Plus, it'd be an excellent birthday present. XD


	13. The Jester And His Prince

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man or any references to anything that actually exists in this chapter.

Chapter 13: The Jester And His Prince

"_Mana's…what…?" Allen whispered, staring at Marian Cross. The man gave a grim, pointless smile._

"_He died, kid, and left me to take care of you."_

* * *

When you realize you love or like a person, things get awkward. Maybe not to them, but to the person who realized their feelings, it gets really, really awkward.

It was almost impossible to avoid Lavi. It seemed like no matter where I went, suddenly Lavi was there. Every time I saw him now, I blushed. Even if I tried my hardest not to, I still did. I felt like some school girl who just found a big crush. Lavi appeared not to take any notice of it, but I had a feeling it was that he probably thought it was because he appeared in the oddest of places in the oddest of circumstances.

Only yesterday he had appeared wearing a court jester outfit, his face painted white and blue and three balls in his hands. It had been half way through Art, and Miss Morgan had laughed heartily and allowed me to go into the hall with him. He had said that he was in a play (I hadn't known he was in Drama, but I suppose I should have been expecting it), and was playing the court jester in some medieval play.

Today, he had randomly appeared in my room and had torn my covers off of me. I had been so embarrassed, mostly because I had only been wearing my boxers (luckily I was able to snatch the blankets back fast enough before he could see my arm), that I had ended up nearly screaming at him in such a frenzy.

Now, he was in my kitchen, eating _my_ cereal, his lips touching one of _my_ spoons, talking to Master.

Maybe I shouldn't have been staring at him so much while he ate.

"Hey, Allen, I know it's Saturday and all, and I know that after the club activities you'll just want to come back home and relax, and usually I'm fine with this, but I really, _really_ need a favor from you." Lavi said, just barely understandable over his mouthful of cereal. I stared at him blankly, waiting for him to go on. A bad feeling was creeping up in the pit of my stomach. "See…My play is short on a character…"

"What, like an extra or something?" I asked, leaning my cheek on my hand. I could already guess what he wanted. "If you need me to do that, I guess I could."

"Really?" Lavi asked, suddenly looking a lot happier. Probably because he didn't even have to ask the actual question. "Thanks, man! I owe you one!"

"Do you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's new. Usually you just force me to do things without considering my feelings or 'owing me one'." I replied in a dead voice. Lavi shrunk in his seat, giving me a sheepish expression. "Well, whatever. I guess I sort of expect it of you now."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment…" Lavi muttered, his head falling forward dejectedly. I smiled, leaning forward even further on the table, until my chin touched the surface. I was so unbelievably tired, and in the week since Tykki's party I had been so busy that I hadn't really had the time to rest except for my brief sleeps, which weren't really getting anywhere either.

I hadn't been able to sleep lately. The nightmares had gotten worse; _much_ worse. Every night, Mana's figure grew more and more gruesome—and his hair and face got redder and younger. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean, or why I was having these dreams, but until two nights ago I hadn't even noticed the changes in Mana—or, for that matter, remembered the first time I had dreamt of Lavi, before I had ever even known him.

"So the brat's going to be out all night, huh?" Master said, propping his feet up on the table. I scrunched my nose up in disgust, the smell of his crusty, brown socks wafting into my nose. Did he really have to do that while we were eating, and right after I had just woken up? The smell made me want to throw up.

"Well, probably. Considering we'll probably have a few lines together, I might just…" Lavi trailed off, raising his head and looking at me. I sat up, looking at him inquisitively. "Hey, Allen, want to spend the night at my house?"

_Spend the night…at his house…? Did I just hear that right?_

My heart leapt into my throat, and I could feel my face growing red. I tried my hardest to suppress it, opening my mouth in an attempt to say something, but all I could do was stutter. I wasn't sure if I was embarrassed, happy, or just extremely baffled.

"Allen? You okay? You look like a tomato." Lavi grinned at his own name calling, like a kid would, and I think it helped me calm down.

"I'm fine." I muttered, looking away from his face. "That was just a little unexpected."

"Oh. So, do you?" Lavi asked, completely unfazed. I bit my lip, weighing my options. Should I be feeling this happy to stay in Lavi's house, spending the entire night with him, and _just_ him? Feeling this way towards someone who was the same sex as me still felt a little odd, but hadn't I already accepted my feelings? So, why not get a little pleasure out of tonight, spend some alone time with him? It wasn't like I was going to try and do anything to him.

_Definitely_ not.

"S-sure…" I muttered, still not looking at him. I smiled a little, already looking forward to it, albeit a little guiltily.

"Sweet! It's been a while since I've had someone over to the house, so I'll have to call Angela and make sure she gets everything ready. Hah, she's going to be so happy that there's finally someone coming over! She's been put out about not having much to do anymore these days." The name sent butterflies through my stomach. Angela.

That had been the name Lavi had muttered in his sleep as Deli and I carried him into my house.

And then I remembered that I already _had_ spent an entire night with Lavi. Completely alone. Just the two of us.

My face turned red again, remembering the automatic assumption that Lavi had come up with when he had woken up that morning.

Gah, this was so frustrating! _WHY_ did I have to like him?!

"Allen?" Lavi asked, sounding a little wary. I blinked, looking up, and realized I was clutching my hair. Immediately I dropped my hands and gave a small, timid smile.

"Sorry, just thinking," I said, my voice a little higher than usual. Lavi raised an eyebrow, but turned away anyways.

"So, Cross, do you mind me stealing the kid away for a couple of days?" He asked, his full attention on Master.

_A couple of days…_I knew I needed to make these worth it. How would I, though? It would be awkward and creepy if I started trying to get too close to Lavi, and if I let anything slip even once everything could be ruined. I couldn't let him catch me smiling at him or staring at him, and I definitely couldn't just start being nice to him and giving in to his every will.

Really, liking a guy was just too much work. Why couldn't Lavi be a girl? Heck, _me_ being a girl wouldn't even be that bad. It wasn't exactly like I would have known what it would be like to be a guy if I had been born a girl, right? And what we don't know, we don't miss.

"Hey, wait a minute, who's a kid?!" I snapped, my eyes widening. Two pairs of eyes turned on me, both judgmental.

"Allen, you're really slow." Lavi pointed out dully, but a small smirk played on his lips afterwards.

("…")

"So…what part am I playing?" I asked again, for what seemed like the tenth time in five minutes. It wasn't like I was being a pest, it was just that no one was listening to me. Lavi had long since gone off with a couple of fellow drama classmates, leaving me to follow the teacher or director or something like that around, and also leaving me to wonder why the hell we had actually gone to the local play theatre.

Lavi had left something out. That much was obvious. More than half of the people in the play were well beyond high school age, and the people who looked relatively close to high school age were all still a little too old. I only saw maybe ten people who I knew for sure went to the school. There were even some middle school and elementary kids.

"Boy, what's your name?" A voice snapped, and I jumped. I searched for the voice, and found that it had been the person I had been following around this whole time.

"Allen Walker?" I asked tentatively, wondering why I would question my own name. The woman nodded firmly.

"Allen Walker. Get on stage, let me see you perform something." She said, her hawk like eyes glaring into mine. Feeling like I had no choice considering how fierce she looked (she definitely would've suited the role of Kanda's mother much better in my opinion), I quickly scurried over to the stage and scrambled onto it.

To be perfectly honest, I had never really done a play, or any sort of performance. The only sort of practice I had with this was when I had to get in front of a class for a project or debating or something along those lines. Definitely never for a play, where I actually had to act.

"You're aiming for solemn, gloomy, but passionate and somebody that has the feeling where you can't disobey them." The woman was saying, her arms folded as she stood in front of me, as if scrutinizing me already before I had even had the chance to do anything. "You're a prince, and an extremely important one at that. At the same time, though, you have three other brothers, all older than you, and they are all closer to being in line for the throne than you are." She continued, and glanced over to the corner where Lavi was standing with his fellow players. Players was a good thing to call them, right? "Let's hope Lavi was right about you."

"Lavi…recommended me?" I asked, a little surprised. The woman looked back to me, and nodded. I glanced back to where Lavi was, and found him staring directly at me. Noticing I was looking, he gave me a grin and two thumbs up. 'Go for it', he mouthed.

"Well, get going then." I blinked, my attention returning to the lady.

"Er…what exactly am I supposed to be doing?" I asked, confused.

"You're playing a prince," the woman sighed. "Maybe this really wasn't a good idea."

"Well, it's just that…I have no lines…I have no idea what I'm supposed to say or do. All you've given me is a characterization. I need something more to work with, don't I?" I asked, my voice getting higher and higher the more evil her glare got with every word.

"You're an actor. You're supposed to be able to use even the smallest of information to your advantage." She snapped, and it sort of seemed like a pencil would have just broken had it been in her grip. I swallowed nervously. What exactly had Lavi gotten me into? What exactly had he said I could do?

"Uh…er…okay…" I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, but apparently I needed to work with what I had. I could do that, right? I was a top grade student, defeated only by a certain redhead standing in the corner (I was so going to kick his ass later), and I had read quite a few plays before. One by Shakespeare struck in my memory, a rather famous one that pretty much every one in North America and Europe probably knew. Even in Asia and Australia, and probably Africa and South America, too. Basically, the whole world.

Romeo and Juliet.

That was a nice play, wasn't it? Very tragic, very true. Romeo was close enough to a brooding prince, wasn't he? Now, if I could use him as my model, I could think up my own little speech and create a very brooding and passionate prince. Right?

"Oh sorrow of this day, I have lost again!

My brother hath torn from my sight the truth of man.

Oh woeful day, oh pitiful day,

What use be though may?…"

Making up a speech in old English isn't necessarily easy, especially when everyone had their eyes on you, devouring your every word, expecting each word to be better than the last. It was extremely hard, and a little embarrassing, but somehow I managed with only a couple of pauses and stumbles.

When I had made it clear that I had finished my little speech, giving a small bow and my heart thumping fast in my chest, applause broke out among the people. I was a little surprised, and had kind of been expecting to get no applause or be told to get out because I didn't cut it and couldn't even play the part of someone who doesn't speak.

"Excellent." That surprised me even more. I looked at the stern looking lady, and found that she was actually smiling, her eyes bright. "Lavi, you pulled through on this one."

"I told you." Why did Lavi have to sound so smug? It made me feel like he actually thought I was important, like he was proud of me or something.

"Well, it's settled then. Allen, you're playing the prince. Anyone have any objections?" Here, she called out to the whole theatre, and I was even more surprised when no one disagreed, instead cheering and smiling at me. "Well kid, welcome to the Green Tact Players Association."

"What…?" I began, but shook my head, deciding it would be better not to ask. Then something sunk in. "Wait…the prince? Is that…a lead role?"

"Yep." The lady said. "And I'm the director, Meg. Get used to me, kid. I'm going to be a round a lot in your life now that you're a lead role."

"But…but…but Lavi said this was a school play! What are you talking about, director? Why are we at the theatre, Lavi? This isn't your drama class!"

"Allen, I never said it was for school." Lavi muttered, but he looked highly amused. "I guess I should have explained it, huh? I'm not in Drama at school, I have too many other courses, so instead I just joined the theatre troupe here."

I blinked rapidly. "So…you went to school wearing your costume from this play?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Lavi grinned proudly. "Lavi…you're really, really strange."

"Allen, you really, really underestimate yourself. I had no idea you could actually act. I mean, you're such a pitiful liar and everything…" Lavi replied, still grinning. I turned red.

"Shut up." I muttered, heading for the stairs. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the mike that was, for some reason, lying on its side. Actually, I did notice, I just noticed a little too late. I noticed when I was flat on my face, the mike rolling away innocently, and immediately laughter erupted from everywhere.

This was a _great_ start.

("…")

"A room's been prepared for you, and dinner's going to be about another half an hour or so, so I can give you a tour if you'd like." Lavi said, taking off his coat. I hardly heard him, gawking at the area in front of me. The entrance hall was at least twice the size of Kanda's, and on the way in through the gates I hadn't even seen the house past all of the tall trees around the place. Now I was wondering how that was possible, and if there really was such a thing as magic, because there was no way only a small wood could hide a place as huge as this.

Lavi lived pretty far out of town, which was a little different from what I had been expecting. Truth be told, I had sort of expected to end up walking down one of the rich neighborhoods, but instead after the play Lavi and I had walked past the movie store, in the same direction he had separated from me that day months ago now. I had never walked that way before, so I was a little surprised when five minutes later we had ended up on a deserted road surrounded by the forest, no side walks and no houses.

I wondered why Lavi walked to town when he lived so far away, since we had walked along that deserted road for a good twenty minutes, not coming across a single other house, before we reached his gates. Walking up his driveway took another ten minutes, half of that time still surrounded by thick wood before coming into one of the most beautiful things I had ever laid eyes on.

The grass was still extremely green despite it being almost winter, with flower beds that most likely flourished during Spring and Summer, and a great deal of trees skillfully spread out. A couple of them, maple trees, still had a few red, brown or orange leaves on them. Surrounding the maple trees were small blankets of their fallen leaves that had yet to be raked. The other trees, however, had no leaves on them.

The driveway was like any classical rich person's driveway that had their own mansion, that circled around a lone island of grass and a huge fountain. Lavi's fountain was of an angel, placing her hand on the head of what looked like a court jester, who was kneeling down and staring up at her. Their faces were emotionless, but I had a feeling that if they weren't made of stone, then their faces would show heartbreaking emotion.

Then there was the mansion itself. It was very old fashioned, made of stone and three stories tall, reaching across the huge clearing that was Lavi's garden. Great stone pillars held up a large, half circle balcony above the double French doors that were the main entry way, and every window had white and red velvet curtains behind them in correspondence. Every three windows was another balcony, much smaller than the one over the entrance way.

Inside, the three floors were perfectly visible from where I stood. The landings for each floor probably spread about twenty feet wide, going around the whole floor, and even from here I could see the various halls that led off to all the other parts of the house, since the entrance room was definitely not big enough to be the whole house. Just thinking about all the halls and staircases that were probably around made me dizzy.

A large and elegant staircase led to the first floor, and currently a young maid was running down it. She looked happy, which seemed a little odd. If I had to help take care of this place, I'd probably die from a heart attack. I couldn't imagine living in a place this big. "Master! Welcome back!" The girl called, and my throat tightened.

"Terrance, I told you not to call me Master." Lavi muttered, his cheeks turning a little red. Relief filled me; so this girl wasn't Angela? She reached us, her brown hair in a messy bun with a little white bonnet on her head, wearing a long black maid's outfit (it was a lot more appropriate than Fou's costume had been).

"I'm sorry, Master, but it's part of the job description. I want to do absolutely everything perfect, so that I'm worthy of being in your care and working in this mansion which is so important to the young master!" If she was a cartoon character, her eyes would have gotten flames behind them she looked so determined. Then she blinked, noticing me, and the fire left, replaced by a politely surprised smile. "Ah, Master, you brought a friend along!" She said happily, and then her face darkened as she turned a little, speaking to herself. "I hope he won't get in the way of my special preparations for tonight with the young master…"

I immediately turned to Lavi, glaring at him accusingly. His face turned starch white when he saw my expression and he raised his hands defensively. "I don't know what it is!" He squeaked out.

"I'm sure you don-" I began, but the girl cut me off.

"Ah, I'm sorry, please forgive me! I didn't mean to come off scary or anything, if you are Master's friend then you are more than welcome, and I will succumb to your every whim!" She cried out. "Even if it's late at night!" I glared harder at Lavi, who let out a small squeak and took a small step backwards. "It's just that I was really planning on having a special night with the young master! I asked him if tonight was okay and he said yes, so I wasn't expecting there to be a guest! I guess I could have two people, but…"

"Just what kind of jobs are you giving out?" I asked coldly, and Lavi scurried backwards as I began to walk towards him, falling over his own feet and staring up at me in horror. I cracked my knuckles.

"M-master!" the girl cried, suddenly jumping in front of me. She stared at me with such determination that I had to stop.

"Why are you doing these things for him? Don't you realize how disgusting and perverted it is? You must be fourteen, fifteen at most! It's almost pedophile-like!" I cried out, staring at her incredulously.

"S-sir?" She asked squeakily, her face suddenly turning bright red. "What exactly…did you think I meant?" Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears and she collapsed to the floor. "Oh, gods! I'm so, so sorry! I shouldn't have explained it like that! Oh, I have disgraced the Bookman family name!" She cried into the floor, sobs racking through her small body. "I've never been so stupid before in my life!"

Suddenly feeling a little awkward, I knelt down and placed my hands on her back in an attempt to be comforting. "Uh…it's okay…I, uh…"

But Lavi started laughing. I was so surprised that I tried standing up too quickly, only to fall back down onto my butt. Lavi sat there, his arms around his knees, laughing. A tear was in his one visible green eye, and the smile on his face was genuine and carefree. I stared at him, entranced by the Lavi I so rarely got to see.

"Master?" The girl whispered, looking just as surprised as I was when she sat up, staring at him with the same awe I felt. I looked away from her face, not wanting to look away from Lavi any longer than necessary. Still laughing, he ran a hand over his face, falling backwards. His body shaking from his chuckles, he took off his green headband and threw it across the floor. It didn't get very far across the room, despite the fact that it had slid for a good ten feet.

"Allen…you…" he breathed between gasps. A small chuckle left his lips, and he placed both of his hands over his face. His voice was muffled when he spoke again, but louder. "Terrance was talking about the work she was planning to help me with. The old panda left some behind when he left on his business trip, so I'm stuck doing it all by myself. When Terrance found out she begged me to let her help. Of course, her way of helping isn't actually doing the work. She was planning on putting on a little concert for me, since her specialty is singing."

"Oh…" I felt a little embarrassed now. Of course it made sense now, about the two people thing. She was probably already embarrassed singing for one person. "Sorry for the misunderstanding." I said, turning to Terrance.

"That's fine." She said, smiling gently and wiping away the last of her tears. She definitely cried easily. "It's also my fault for being so silly. I should have realized that what I was saying was so vague."

"Well, now that that's all settled, how about I show you around?" Lavi asked, sitting up and looking at me. He didn't say anything about the way Terrance acted, and I had a feeling that it happened often.

"What exactly were you going to show our guest, _Master_?" A cold, deep but very female voice asked. A shiver ran down my spine, and I turned to look towards the stairs, where a very stern looking woman was standing. Her face was cold, with no hint of a smile, and if she wasn't so stiff she'd probably be the most beautiful office-like woman I'd ever seen.

With sleek blonde hair that was tied back and two piercing blue eyes, her lips were full and her skin was a healthy sort of pale. She could probably be a model if she wanted to, but instead she was in this house, calling a teenaged boy Master, probably going around cleaning things. However, instead of a maid outfit like Terrance, she was wearing a gray professional business suit; a skirt instead of pants, of course.

Just looking at her I felt I would never be able to disobey her.

"A-Angela…" Lavi sounded nervous. A laugh came from his lips. Yes, definitely nervous. Apparently, I had reason to be a little afraid.

"Lavi, the next time you decide to go out, take your cell phone. I have told you this numerous times, yet when I called you there was no answer. I thought that maybe you just turned it off because of your…_play_, but when I _happened_ to go into your room to see if there was any cleaning necessary…" She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a shiny black cell phone. "I found this."

"Hehe…you see, I kind of forgot about it…" Lavi muttered, standing up and avoiding the woman's gaze.

"Then why was it sitting on your bed, in plain view, with _this_ next to it?" Angela snapped, sounding a little more aggravated. She held up a scrap piece of paper, but no matter how much I squinted I couldn't see anything written on it. Angela put it in front of her face and read out the words that I had been unable to see.

"Angela-

Up yours.

Lavi."

I looked at Lavi, frowning disapprovingly. Terrance covered her mouth, holding back a giggle. Lavi gave another little nervous laugh. "Did I write that?" He asked in a high pitched voice. "I could have sworn I didn't write that. I thought I wrote something else entirely, I must have been-"

"None of your excuses!" Angela snapped, going down the rest of the stairs and marching towards us, her high heels clicking on the floor menacingly. My heart was thudding in my chest, but unlike it had been on the stage, when it had been excitement and wonder, I felt fear and dread. Her lips pursed, she came to a stop two feet away from us.

"Angela, really…I can explain…" Lavi squeaked, his entire body shaking. Why was he so scared? I could see it in his eye, too. He was really scared.

"I just said, none of your excuses. The next time you decide to deliberately defy me like this, I _will_ go to the next step. For now, you will repay me by doing extra work for your grandfather, and an extra two weeks of tutoring for Ancient Greek." The woman snapped, and then her eyes turned to me. If there was ever a personality change, this was it.

Suddenly, her eyes turned bright, and a smile that didn't seem to suit her filled her features. She looked like she was trying to look like a teenaged girl who was extra whiny and had a tendency to smile and be happy too much. She really didn't fit the part with her make up and choice of clothes. "Hello, young sir. How can I be of service to you?"

"Uh…" I looked at Lavi, trying to find reassurance, but he was currently sending me death glares, so instead I was quick to put on a smile, though I could feel it twitching. _Think of this as practice for the play._ "Hello. You must be Angela. Lavi's mentioned your name a couple of times, but he never really told me who you were. It's nice to meet you."

"He has, has he?" Angela asked in that sickly sweet voice, and for a very brief moment she returned to the woman she had been only moments ago, glaring at Lavi, who was still looking at me as if he wanted to kill me. Well, I guess I could understand. Sometimes I felt like murdering him, too, when he got all buddy buddy with Master. "It's very nice to know I'm remembered."

"Well, Allen, let's go for a tour around the house." Lavi said, a little coldly and very deliberately pulling me away from Angela. She watched me go with a smile, Terrance beside her and looking a little confused. Apparently, she had never seen Angela like that before, either. She couldn't seem to look away from her.

"Enjoy your stay, young sir. I will be seeing you at dinner; be sure not to be late, or else the food will get cold." She called happily, waving a handkerchief she had randomly pulled out of the breast pocket the cell phone had come from. "Adieu."

"Is she French or something?" I asked when Lavi pulled me into a random hall. Lavi let go of my wrist, allowing me to walk beside him with a little less awkwardness. Admittedly, I sort of missed the feeling of his warm hand around my wrist…although he had been holding it a little tighter than necessary. Making sure he wasn't looking, I rubbed the slightly sore area.

"No, she just likes being fancy like that." Lavi muttered, sounding very irritated. I raised both of my eyebrows, dropping my wrist and instead rushing to walk beside him.

"She seemed kind of scary at first—why'd she change like that all of a sudden?" I asked.

"She finds it's _required_ of her to get all cheesy like that when a guest comes. She isn't like that when Yuu comes over, he already knows her too well, and since he's the only one who really comes to this house anymore none of the maids or anyone working here has ever seen her like that. Terrance is probably shocked right now, poor girl…" Lavi sighed, and then rubbed his face. "Damn that Yuu! He's so cold and evil that he gets along with her! I swear, they conspire against me! I bet you anything the reason she found my cell phone was because of him…he probably had it all planned out with her, and she agreed with it because it's the perfect excuse to torture me…"

I was reminded of how scared he had looked when she had first appeared, and I frowned. Maybe I wouldn't mention that to him, or breach the subject. He seemed to be talking about it fine right now, but if I brought it to his attention, then I wasn't sure what his reaction would be. I didn't want to do anything that could make him distant towards me.

I tried not to feel jealous when he talked about Kanda. After all, Lavi wasn't exactly someone who liked guys, and Kanda _definitely_ wasn't (either that or the whole reason he's such a stuck up prick was because he was hiding in the closet and had a hard time admitting it), so there was really nothing to be concerned about there. Plus, Lavi wasn't a kid. He could make his own choices, and I should be just fine with them.

Besides, why would Lavi ever like me that way anyways? Why was I even bothering worrying about it? I didn't have a chance. I would most likely just watch him go out with other girls, give him advice where he asked for it, watch as he found the girl of his dreams while I could never find the girl of mine, because all I would see is him…

Yet, for me, it was enough. Just being here with him, watching him, being his friend and knowing that he saw me as a friend as well, I was happy. I wouldn't ruin it for anything. I wouldn't take my chances on confessing my love to him, because the threat of him never talking to me again if I did was too high a price. I would be able to suffer a little for a lot more happiness.

For Lavi, I knew I could.

"…and now I bet you anything he's in his room laughing his head off at my expense!" Lavi's voice reached my ears, and I looked up at him, blinking. A little dumbfounded (how could he still be talking about that?), I raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't look at me like I'm stupid." He muttered, looking away from me like a five year old would.

"Lavi, I don't think Kanda did anything about that. I'm pretty sure it was all your fault. After all, you were the one who left that note. You probably knew that she would go looking around your room for the cell phone." I said matter-of-factly. Lavi winced, looking like a child caught in the cookie jar.

"I didn't really…" he mumbled, pushing his two ring fingers together guiltily. I laughed.

"It doesn't matter," I said lightly, then looked around. "Where are we?"

"We're heading towards the back. I wanted to show you the garden out there. For some reason…" his guilt from our previous conversation melted away, replaced by a small, serene smile. When he looked at me, I felt my heart beat a little faster, his emerald eye boring into mine with such feeling and kindness. "I know you'll like it."

"Lavi…?" I whispered, feeling my feet stop. He stopped too. For a moment, all I saw was that petrifying emerald green eye, an endless pool of green that went on forever and ever, and that bore into my soul. There was no mask there, no pretend feelings or bitter emotion. In his eye, at that moment, I saw happiness, serenity, peace. Lavi was happy.

_Is this…love? Is this what love…really is? My heart's beating so fast…_

"But man, Terrance was a real dolt this time!" Lavi let out, breaking the somehow intimate silence. I felt like I had been awoken from a dream as he turned and started walking again. My heart wouldn't slow down, and my head felt a little light as I hurried to catch up to him. I felt somehow weak. My hands were shaking a little.

"I-is she always like that?" I stuttered, desperate to cover up my feelings. Lavi didn't look back at me, and I was sure to stay at least two strides behind him. We turned a corner, heading down another hall. I hadn't even notice where we were going. How many corners had there been? How many doors?

"Yeah, she's pretty bad for it. She's always switching moods and ending up making a huge scene. Since there's never been anyone besides Kanda, who she prefers to stay away from, I didn't know how she would act. I guess I should have been expecting that, though." Lavi let out a soft sigh and a small laugh. "When we took her in, gramps said there might be a bit of trouble."

"Took her in?" I muttered to myself. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask. Why is she so young? Is it really okay for her to be working so far out when she has school and stuff?"

"She doesn't go to school; she lives here." Lavi replied as if this were the most normal thing in the world. Maybe to him it was, living in a place like this. Even as I thought it, we turned another corner, into another hall. This hall, however, was much smaller, and I could see a large window ahead; or maybe it was just a glass wall.

"Why does she live here? Did she give up her life just to serve you?" I asked, feeling a little incredulous. Lavi chuckled a little.

"No, we adopted her. Of course we pay the people who actually come here for work, but not really by money. We take in orphans who have no where to go and have been abandoned on the streets. They live here, eat our food, have a life; and in return they do whatever work we give them. Everyone who's here is dedicated to their jobs, and are really happy. We've never had to worry about a thief before."

For some reason, my immediate response was picturing Angela as a troubled teenager with ragged clothes. "Somehow…I can't picture Angela being one of them…" I muttered. Despite that, though, the part I didn't voice, was how I was a little surprised. I had been expecting something a bit less…good.

"Haha, Angela's the only one who was actually hired by application. She's sort of like this house's manager. She takes care of every little affair, and technically me, too." Lavi said with a large grin. "Even though she's scary as shit, she's still sort of paternal towards me."

_Paternal…is that really the right word for this? Wouldn't motherly be more appropriate?_

"Really?" I asked, not saying anything else. I didn't want to ask the question that was really on the tip of my tongue: _then why were you so scared?_

"Well, yeah. She actually really spoils me and stuff, even though she tries to cover it up by saying it's from one of the maids or something." Lavi said with a laugh, but if he said anything after that, I wasn't sure. At that moment, the glass wall came into full view, revealing itself for what it really was; a door leading outside into the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. At the moment, I knew it wasn't in it's full glory, but in the summer…

"I told you you'd like it." Lavi whispered beside me, and I looked up at him. He wasn't looking at me, just staring out the door, a peaceful smile on his face. I smiled too, looking back out the door.

"Can we go out there?" I whispered, already itching to turn the little bronze knob that would take away the separation from me and that beautiful outside world.

"Of course." Lavi replied, still whispering. Without another word, I grabbed onto the cold knob, turning it while taking a deep breath.

_Mana, have you ever seen anything this beautiful?_

("…")

"Why do you always leave your house?" I asked, absently drawing invisible shapes on the wood bench below me. Sitting beside me, Lavi let out a little hum before answering.

"I like it better in the outside world." He said quietly, as if not to disturb the peace.

"I would love to live here, spend my days in a place like this…" I whispered, letting out a longing sigh and leaning my head back so that I could look up into the branches of the willow that stood above me. "It's like its own little world."

"You get kind of used to it when you've lived here your whole life. To me, this place is sort of like a prison." I froze, my lips opening partially as I sucked in this information. Lavi didn't often talk about his own personal feelings. He talked about his past easily enough, although it was all rather vague, but he'd never really spoken of his real feelings or personal thoughts. "Not all of my memories here are exactly…pleasant."

The pain in his voice hurt me. I felt something ache inside me, wondering why my Lavi was suffering.

_There I go with the whole _my Lavi_ thing again._

I lifted my head to peer closely at Lavi's face. He was frowning gently, his single eye staring off into some place I could see, that I couldn't reach. At the moment, he was in his own world, a place that was too far away for me to ever grasp.

But didn't I already know that all too well? I would never be able to reach where Lavi was. I was just some useless person who didn't deserve to have him as my friend, yet was being given that opportunity by him. Without Lavi, I would still be nothing, I would still be oblivious to the world, disgracing Mana's memory.

Mana…

"Dinner should be ready soon. We should head back inside." Lavi whispered, standing up. I opened my mouth, about to ask if we could stay a little longer in this perfect sanctuary, but when I saw the look on his face, so full of agony, I stopped. I wanted to say something, anything, to comfort him, but I could think of nothing. I didn't even know why he was so hurt. What could I do?

"_Besides that, he's not good for you. You have more to be worrying about than that stupid brat. He's a nuisance and you know it, so why are you wasting your time on him? He's just a selfish, know-it-all cry baby."_

Kanda's words echoed in my head, and I couldn't help but think he was right. It wasn't like I could confide in this to Lavi; after all, I wasn't even sure if he had known that I had been listening in (although if that idiot Kanda had noticed then Lavi probably had, too). Finally, I was beginning to understand what they meant when they said I was no good.

"Allen?" Lavi asked, looking down at me with a bit of concern. Shaking my head a little, I smiled and stood up. Even if I didn't know anything about him, and even if I couldn't help him, I could still at least try and be normal for his sake, right? If I could act like nothing was wrong, and if I could continue to be the person he could use to escape, then at least I was doing something.

Wasn't that what I had used Deli for that night? She had been the outsider, the person who wasn't a part of everything, the person I could use to escape. She was gone now, and I had ruined my chances of ever seeing her again, but I knew that more than anything sometimes it was nice to have a person around who didn't know.

_After all, doesn't everyone else know, too? They all know about Lavi, about what he's been through, but no one talks to me about it. It's like a mine field, and if I'm going to start going across it any time soon, because I know I've been avoiding it, then I'm going to have to start treading carefully. Maybe that was why they never told me—maybe I just need to find out for myself. Maybe I need to become his support on my own, without their help, and they know that._

_Either that, or I'm really full of myself._

I was leaning more towards the latter.

As we reached the door again, I looked back at my little sanctuary. Rather, it was Lavi's sanctuary, but I could still privately call it my own, right?

Looking at this place, I could see Lavi there. It was like he belonged.

In front of me was the little stone path which led to the relatively large pond, the huge willow tree towering over it and its long branches dipping into the water. The little wooden bench Lavi and I had been sitting on was barely visible in its little shelter. The woods weren't too far behind, no fence blocking them from the naturally beautiful clearing, the grass ankle length and the flower beds all empty, waiting for the summer to come. The place had such a natural, unspeakable beauty to it.

It was exactly like a personal sanctuary.

The area wasn't even that big, closed off by the woods, and not too far off was a little maze made of rhododendron bushes. Lavi said that place was better off vacant during the fall and winter seasons, since it was something much better enjoyed when the flowers were in bloom. He said that there really was a finish area, and that the area was completely different from here.

I think the best part about it was that he said he would leave it a secret until summer. He planned on having me come over again.

A bit farther off, near the edge of the mansion, was a garage. Lavi said he'd show me his collection later tonight. I was a little scared to see what exactly his collection contained. He was pretty rich, and his taste seemed to rival that of Master's, and I was a little worried that whatever I would see, I would end up feeling even more miniscule and poor than I already did.

"Allen?" Lavi's voice broke through my reverie, and I snapped back to attention. He was waiting for me, holding the door open with an amused look on his face. He looked like he had been standing there for a while. "You don't have to make it seem so sad that we're leaving the garden. You'll see it again."

"Yeah, I guess." I said, forcing on a smile. What if I didn't, though? No one knew what the future held. What if we stopped being friends? What if he moved, or I moved? There were too many things that could happen that could prevent me from ever seeing this place again, side by side with Lavi.

"Well, let's go. Angela will cause a hissy fit if we're late." Lavi said cheerfully, and I nodded, walking past him and still wearing my painful smile. It seemed difficult to smile now, even though I was with Lavi. Maybe because I was giving myself so many depressing thoughts. I needed to stop being such a pessimist.

The dining room was huge. It had glass doors on either side of it, one side leading to the kitchen and the other side leading to the hall beyond, which was where we entered from. The room was blindingly white, and every chair was unbelievably cushiony, with the red velvet look that I often saw in movies. There were at least twenty seats. Lavi's house was seeming more and more like a fairy tale or the setting of a movie.

Waiting for us were Angela and Terrance, as well as two other maids I hadn't seen and a few young males wearing butler-type suits. Exactly how many people worked here, I had no idea. They all stood in a line against the wall, Angela's face sternest while the rest looked either carefree or eager. The way Terrance's eyes were glittering and everyone kept glancing from Angela to me in excitement, I guessed Terrance had told them about Angela's peculiar behavior.

"Welcome to the dinging room, Mr. Walker. Please, have a seat wherever you'd like. Young master, you may also take your seat. The food will be here shortly." Angela said, her tone a little more high pitched than it probably should have been. She was smiling her creepy smile again, and Lavi once again gave me a death glare before setting off, finding a seat among the many that were there.

Not really wanting to be stuck alone or by strangers if anyone else was going to be eating, I followed him quietly. When he seated himself not at one of the heads of the table (it was amazingly long, but once again with the typical width so that there was only room for one seat on each end) but in a random area near the center, I was quick to sit next to him.

"Following me?" he asked, giving me a carefree and teasing smile. I blushed, pouting.

"No…" I muttered, though I knew he could easily see past the lie.

"Now, now Allen. If you can't even tell a small lie, how are you going to be able to pull of the play?" Lavi asked, still giving me the same smile. I glared, the pout turning into a mope.

"Shut up…" I muttered. "Acting and lying are two different things."

"But if you get into character, and your character is lying, then what are you going to do? After all, you have to tell all those lies to the woman you end up with, and to me, too, since I'm going to be becoming your best friend!" Lavi said, still grinning. This news surprised me a little. I hadn't read most of the script yet, only the parts that we had practiced today. None of those scenes had involved Lavi, but somehow they had all ended up with me in it in some way or another. It had been a little aggravating.

"Why is the jester becoming best friends with the prince?" I asked, frowning. Lavi shrugged.

"I dunno. That's basically what the whole story's about, though, how the jester and the prince become friends. The morale behind it is that it doesn't matter who you are, true friends are true friends." Lavi gave a small nod as if confirming it, taking away from the effect that it would have otherwise had. "Or something like that, anyways."

"Lavi, you're really smart and all…but sometimes you really act like an idiot." I stated dully, shaking my head morosely and looking away. Lavi looked a little offended, and a little confused.

"What'd I do?" He asked, pointing to himself innocently. I didn't really intend to answer him or anything, but it was still convenient that the glass doors opened on the kitchen side, a large cart rolling in carrying tons of food; a lot more food than just two people could eat (though I was pretty sure I could take a pretty good chunk out of it).

"Food's all done!" Someone said from inside the kitchen, and a second later people came flooding out of it. I watched as people carried in plates, cutlery, napkins, glasses and large jugs of many different juices. Steadily, the table cloth covered table also became covered in everything necessary to eat; including food.

It was sort of like a gourmet, everything laid out on their respective plates with tongs or large spoons to scoop them up, and in the very center was a huge plate full of many different kinds of steak between rare and well done. I could already feel my mouth salivating. I was also a little surprised when all of them, including who I guessed was the head chef (he was older than anyone else who left the kitchen) and Angela, all took seats around the table. The two oldest, Angela and Head Chef (what else could I call him?), took the two head seats.

"Everyone, listen up!" Angela called over the many voices. All of them were so young, and every seat that was there was now gone. The people who had been standing before were now sitting at the table. Nobody was trying to be impressive or polite in front of their boss or his guest, which admittedly made me feel a little better. At the sound of Angela's voice, though, everyone shut up.

"We have a guest for the night, so please be careful not to be too rowdy. We don't want any one thinking that we're an unfit bunch to take care of the Bookman Residence." Angela said in a voice that made a shiver run up my spine. When she mentioned the word guest, all eyes turned to me except for Lavi, who was picking his nose and staring off into the distance as if he couldn't hear her.

"Yes ma'am!" A chorus of voices spoke, and then directly afterwards everyone started talking again. I looked to where Angela was, and she gave a heavy sigh, realizing that they probably wouldn't listen to her. I smiled, feeling a lot more relaxed now that I saw just how homey everyone was. As I reached over to help myself to some food, Lavi finally coming back to the world of the living and doing the same, I began to count just how many people were there.

…And then I counted again.

I counted a total of three times before I had to finally admit that I had actually counted right, though I couldn't see how that was possible physically. The table definitely hadn't been _that_ long, and there definitely couldn't have been that many chairs, but my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

Currently, fifty people were seated around the long table, including myself and Lavi. Fifty seats, fifty people, forty eight workers in total in the Bookman Residence. How come in all of those halls I hadn't seen a single person? Surely we should have seen at least one. When Lavi had said that his grandpa had left for a business trip and he had been left to take command of everything, I thought that maybe he meant actual work with local customers. I thought that Lavi was lonely in his house.

"Ugh, and here I was feeling sorry for him…" I muttered to my plate, shoving a large mouthful of food into my mouth. The meat was so tender I thought I had gone into heaven.

"Huh? Feeling sorry for who?" Lavi asked over a mouthful of food, looking at me inquisitively. I opened my mouth to answer him, but there was too much food in it, so I just shook my head. Lavi shrugged his shoulders and returned to his food. The table was unbelievably noisy, with people reaching over each other's plates and calling across the table to get someone else's attention, and some people were even flicking food at each other. They definitely weren't taking Angela's advice.

The place was oddly happier than I would have expected. I had never seen people who worked in a mansion be so happy. I would have thought that if a person were to work in a place like this they would be a lot gloomier, what with the complex it would probably give them. I know I would feel like a miniscule piece of dirt if I had to work for people this rich.

Looking at Lavi, though, I couldn't see any traits in him that really said he was rich except for the careless way he talked about expensive things and money. He was too happy, and too carefree to be seen as a rich person. Usually a rich kid was a stuck up snob who thought they deserved everything in the world and had no respect for other people.

Well, in the movies they were, anyways. That was what the stereotypes said, and also my own personal experience from a little after Mana had died…I bit my lip. Even though it was easier to think about him in general, thinking about the things that happened after his death were too painful to think about. I wasn't ready yet, despite the fact that Lavi was next to me, happy and laughing with the people who worked for him.

Three plates of food later, around thirty of the workers stood up and took the plates away, still laughing and happy. The way they were acting, it was as if this were a normal chore in a normal house where you cleared the table and did the dishes for your family because it was expected of you. Instead, they brought out a huge array of desserts. As soon as Lavi saw them, I could see him salivating.

"You have a sweet tooth?" I asked, a little surprised. Lavi just nodded, not really paying attention to me, waiting for the desserts to all be placed. As soon as they were all ready, he grabbed as many as he could.

I helped myself, too, filling up a total of two plates with pies and macaroons and brownies and jell-o and anything else that appealed to me. I wondered if they had this kind of food every day, or if it was because there was a guest here. I was a little amazed that Lavi was able to take care of this house all on his own while also attending to a play, but I had a feeling that Angela actually did most of the work.

"Is it really okay for me to be sleeping over like this?" I asked, swallowing a mouthful of apple pie. Lavi looked over at me, and for a moment he looked like a chipmunk. I held back a fit of laughter, quickly covering my mouth, and Lavi swallowed the contents in his mouth. With a long, relieved gasp, Lavi leaned back in his chair with a grin.

"It's fine, it's fine!" He said happily, waving his hand carelessly. "I'm all done any immediate work, and right now to me the play is more important than anything else. Right now I'd rather have you over so we can practice than have to work on boring stuff like finances."

"Somehow…that didn't make me feel better…" I said, deadpanning.

Lavi laughed, rubbing his stomach, which had grown since we had first started eating. I looked down at my own stomach, but it was just as flat as before. I sighed. Maybe I had a hookworm or something. But then, I wouldn't have thrown up at Deli's house when I had eaten too many sandwiches. Then again, I had eaten about three times the amount than I had eaten tonight that night.

I gave up on trying to figure out what was wrong with me, instead looking around at the people who were all talking happily, still slowly eating their desserts. Lavi lived in a much more peaceful environment than I had imagined him to be in. The way he acted sometimes, I would have thought he lived in some kind of tense, uptight household that would be scary even to enter.

"Oh yeah, Allen, I've been wanting to ask you." Lavi dragged my attention away from his employees, and I looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, see, there's so many different people in this house, and so many different rooms, that in the mix, a piano room was added in. Usually only a couple of the maids and man servants really go in there, but since you're here now…well, I was wondering if you wanted to teach me the rest of that song." Lavi finished his (slightly long) question, and I smiled. I hadn't really been expecting that, and admittedly I had actually forgotten all about teaching Lavi that song, but now that he reminded me the thought of it made me eager to see the room and what kind of piano we would be using.

"Yeah, all right." I said. Lavi gave me one of the happiest smiles he had given all day.

("…")

"Perfect." I whispered, leaning my cheek in my hand. Lavi smiled softly, but his eyes did not leave the ivory keys. The melody rang in my ears, the first time that it had been played for me since Mana's brother had played it. Mana had never played the song, he had said that he was no good with the piano, but I knew that he knew how to play it. I guess it had just been too painful for him.

"This song is really beautiful." Lavi said gently, his voice more tender than usual. "Who wrote it? Before you played it, I'd never heard it."

"Mana." I whispered, not with pain or hesitance, I just didn't want to ruin the atmosphere. It felt like if I rose my voice, it would shatter the melody and the serenity. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.

The tune faltered, which confused me, because once Lavi knew something it was doubtful he would ever forget it. Opening my eyes, I found him staring at me with wide eyes. Suddenly, the music stopped.

"Mana…wrote this?" He asked, suddenly looking ashamed.

"Why're you so upset?" I asked, sitting up properly again from my seat in one of the chairs that faced the piano. We had spent the past two hours here, and only about five minutes ago he had actually finished learning the song. It sounded almost as good as Mana's brother.

Lavi peered at me curiously, looking for something wrong, but I smiled. Sitting there, confused, he began to pout. "I don't understand." He finally said. He didn't look very happy about it, either.

"Don't understand what?" I asked.

"It makes no sense. I can't get you. It frustrates me so much…" Lavi heaved a sigh, running a hand through his loose hair. His green headband sat on the top of the piano, having been removed long ago. Lavi said it would help him feel a bit more serious. "First with the acting, then with this… you're really surprising me today."

"Like I said, what don't you understand?" I asked, frowning and becoming a little impatient. Lavi dropped his hand, leaning forward and looking at me with a determined sort of expression.

"You." He said. Maybe it was because of how serious he looked, or maybe it was because it sounded sort of absurd to my ears, but I started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Lavi asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Wiping at my eyes, which had started to tear, I looked at him. He looked extremely confused, and a little offended.

"I'm not really sure. I guess it's kind of ironic. I mean, you say that you don't understand me, but I'm the one who doesn't get you at all. I guess it was a bit of a surprise to hear that you feel the same way about me." I said, smiling kindly, trying to show him that I wasn't trying to offend him. Understanding crossed his features.

"You don't get me?" he asked, sounding a little proud of the fact. "Huh. Cool."

I glared. "What's so cool about it?" I snapped, frowning.

"I dunno. I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't understand me. I hardly understand myself sometimes." Lavi mused, looking up at the ceiling.

"You're not really supposed to understand yourself." I pointed out, which was sort of true. No person really understood themselves fully. Usually, it was the people around them who understood them and had to tell them about their own traits and habits and personality. The way Lavi was acting, it was as if no one had ever tried to tell him that.

_Of course, I don't think anyone would be able to figure him out. His personality changes too much, and his moods shift constantly. Plus, he hides himself behind his mask all the time, so I don't even know what he's really like._

"Really? I thought a person was the only person able to understand themselves. Actually, I thought you were the one who told me that." Lavi scratched the back of his head, as if confused, but I knew he was just trying to prove me wrong.

"I didn't say that. I said the only person who can understand how you _feel_ is yourself." I argued. "However, understanding _yourself_ is a different story. Let's just stop talking about this, I'm getting confused." I sighed, slumping my shoulders.

"Yes, Master!" Lavi said in a creepy voice, grinning like a madman. I blinked, recognizing the way he had said that. Wasn't that in a movie…?

"Dracula…Dead and Loving It…right?" I asked slowly, unsure, but when Lavi's grin became larger I knew I had hit the jack pot. I rolled my eyes. I had forgotten about that movie. I'd watched it maybe twice, a long, long time ago. "I haven't seen that movie in a long time."

"Really?" Lavi asked, his hands once again going to the ivory keys. He hit a few notes, humming to himself. "Well, I have it, so we can watch it tonight if you'd like." But I said nothing, interested in what he was doing, watching his fingers as they played over the keys, so lightly that no sound came from the piano.

"What…song are you playing?" I asked, curious. It wasn't my song, since he wasn't looking at the keys but at me, and he wasn't good enough to have it that down pact yet. He was tracing a different song.

"I'm not really playing it, just remembering it." Lavi replied quietly, and then he actually began to press down on the keys. A song I had never heard filled my ears, the notes singing a melody foreign to me. It was oddly peaceful, with a cheerful feel to it. I imagined a family playing in a park with their dog—an ideal way to spend time with your loved ones. The song reminded me of something like that.

"Where's it from?" I asked. Lavi shrugged.

"Not sure. I made it up in my head one day." He said, still running his fingers over the keys so fast that I felt a little envious. Lavi's long fingers had somehow always seemed more strong and durable than mine, which wasn't necessarily what you looked for in a pianist. Technically, I had the ideal hands for a pianist, with long, fragile white fingers. Seeing Lavi now, though, his hands suddenly seemed so much more beautiful than mine.

After all, one of my hands would never be beautiful.

"I can change it like this…" Lavi continued, changing the tone to something a bit more dreary but still with the same general tune. "Or like this…" suddenly, I imagined roses and fireworks, two people sitting together on a hilltop holding hands…romantic. "It doesn't matter what it is, I can probably turn it into it."

"Horror?" I asked, smiling a little. Lavi obliged, and my smile grew. He really could. "That's pretty neat."

"Isn't it?" He asked, changing it into a more mellow tone. As it became mellow, the song changed completely. This one, I did recognize. Arabesque No. 1, by Debussy. I, too, knew this song. Actually, it was a song I had enjoyed playing a lot when I was younger.

"When did you learn to play this? I thought you said you weren't that good at the piano." I said, standing up and drifting towards him. I felt like I needed to be closer to where the beautiful sound was coming from. I wasn't sure if I would have been able to play this song better.

"Compared to you, I'm not." Lavi replied softly, smiling at me before looking down at what he was doing. "I started learning how to play piano when I was eight. Angela was the one who taught me. She's the one who teaches me languages, musical instruments, things like that. She even taught me how to make hemp jewelry."

"You've been playing for longer than I have." I stated sullenly. "I stopped for six years, and I only started when I was seven. I only played for about three years."

"You're better than I am, though. I've never heard someone as good as you." Lavi stated, almost stubbornly. I blinked in surprise, and the music stopped as Lavi abruptly stood up. "Play."

"Er…" I looked at the piano, frowning. "Play what?"

"Anything. Anything you can think of." Lavi begged, his voice suddenly turning desperate. My heart suddenly beating faster, I looked at him in surprise. Why did he look so hopeful? Why did he look so sad?

"Lavi…" my voice cracked a little, and I could feel my stomach clench as the words left my lips. "What is…the piano to you?"

I think it was the longest silence that had ever commenced between Lavi and myself. At least, it felt that way. Maybe it had really only been a few minutes, but at that moment it was like time stopped…and it just didn't move.

The look on Lavi's face engraved itself into my heart. I don't think I would ever be able to erase it from my memories.

His mouth was open in horror, his eyes suddenly no longer looking at me but instead staring at something unknown, filled with unknown terror and fear. His face became starch white, and his body shook.

Then, like ice that had been thrown into boiling water, time returned to normal. Lavi regained composure, his face becoming guarded and cold. The last time I had seen him like this was Halloween night. I wanted to make it go away.

"I…" his voice sounded dead, too. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." I whispered, not hesitating. My heart was still beating so fast. Without thinking about it, just wishing to see Lavi happy again, or at least normal, I sat down on the bench in front of the piano, and my fingers began to play. I didn't pay attention to the song, I didn't pay attention to Lavi or to what my hands were doing, I just tried to forget that look.

What had happened to him that had made him that scarred?

"Allen." I jumped, my hands fumbling on the keys, causing a loud jumble of sounds. Panting a little, I looked to where Lavi was, staring down at me with a concerned frown. "Really, it's nothing."

"I…"

"You don't have to play if you don't want to. It's painful for you, isn't it?" He asked, gently, carefully. Like I was the one who had just been so scared.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child." I snapped, clenching my teeth and standing up. "I was just trying to help you."

Lavi's eyes widened, and then narrowed. His jaw seemed to snap shut. "I didn't need help." He said, cold and low. "Don't assume things."

"I wasn't assuming." I said, slowly and rigidly. "You didn't see your own face. If you'd of seen how pathetic you'd looked…"

"Shut up!" Lavi yelled, pushing me. I fell backwards into the bench, my elbows hitting the keys to the piano. My heart thudded in my chest with fear. Had Lavi really just done that? Was I dreaming? Why were we even fighting? I stared at him, and I could feel my mouth open, but I couldn't seem to will myself to close it.

Lavi seemed to realize what he had done. He stared down at me in horror, backing away.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing. Lavi wasn't himself right now. Then again, was I either? This entire night, I had been acting differently too, hadn't I? I had been in my own little heaven, completely disregarding everything around me, throwing away my mask and showing myself for who I was. I had let my guard down and allowed myself to be sucked into my own little world.

I wonder, if I had of been my usual self, would I have discovered the things about Lavi that I had today?

Wouldn't nothing have changed at all in the end?

I smiled weakly, looking back at the keys that were still being pressed down by my elbows. "You wanna help me up?" I asked. "I don't know if I can do it myself without falling over more."

For a moment, he looked surprised. Then, with a grateful smile, Lavi closed the distance between him and the bench, taking me by the shoulders and hauling me up. I clutched his elbows, ignoring the jittery feeling in my stomach, and grinned at him when I was standing again. We dropped our arms at the same time, and as soon as his touch disappeared an odd sort of emptiness filled me.

"Thanks." I said, smiling.

"No problem." Lavi replied, taking a deep breath. When he exhaled, he brought his arms behind his head, and the old Lavi was back. "So, want to go watch Dead and Loving It?"

"Do we have to…?" I asked, frowning. "I didn't really appeal to that movie…"

"Aw, but it's hilarious!" Lavi pouted, smiling devilishly. "I say we watch it."

"I really don't get a say in this, do I?" I asked, letting out a small sigh of defeat.

"Nope." Lavi piqued, throwing an arm over my shoulders and dragging me out of the piano room. We didn't look back, as I tugged at his arm and he laughed at my expense, just like it used to be.

I really don't think I would have it any other way.

("…")

"Did she make up this script?" I asked, cross legged on the couch, flipping through the script for the play. Lavi was sitting on a comfy looking arm chair beside me, the script sitting uselessly at his side as he watched me.

"Yeah. She usually does. She's a pro with old English and stuff, and when she became the director she decided she also wanted to be a writer. Not all of the plays are written by her, of course. Some are from Shakespeare, or from other plays that had already been made. Some are even from people who work there or are actors. She only really gets to use her own plays every now and then." Lavi explained, shifting in his seat so that his knees were up and he was fully turned towards me.

"It's an amazing play." I complimented, reading one of the speeches my character made. It was like reading Shakespeare, except there was a distinct modern feel to it, despite the setting and time period the play was supposed to take place. There were no rhymes, and most likely for the sake of the audience she hadn't made the complicated and intricate sentence structures that was often found in Old English plays. The dialect was enough that a ten year old would still be able to understand it completely, but there was still a hint of the older times there.

"She worked her hardest for this one." Lavi said, letting out a soft sigh. "For some reason, this story seemed to be really important to her to finish. She never told me why, and I didn't even know when she started writing the play, which I usually do. I'm usually her proofreader, see. I play around with her play and fix any mistakes until it's perfect, but this time she didn't let me touch it. She said that this was a treat to me, too, whatever that means."

I looked at Lavi, examining his features. His emerald eye was downcast, staring at something, maybe his hands or his knees, while his mouth was set in a soft frown. He looked a little confused, but somewhere in there was understanding. This confused me, since I didn't get what he could possibly be understanding, but I didn't bother to ask. It would be kind of weird letting Lavi know how closely I looked at him at times.

"Well, there must be something in the play that would be important to you, right?" I asked, dropping the script and stretching. With the stretch came a long yawn, and I shut my eyes. My mind was starting to get a little groggy from exhaustion. I had never expected Lavi's house to be so huge, and simply getting to this one living area, after passing at least three others that were pretty much exactly like it, had taken at least ten minutes.

Well, it would have if we hadn't of been stopped by absolutely everybody in the house. Where I hadn't seen them before, I saw them now. I guess they had all been in the kitchen when we had first gone through the house, but now that dinner was over they were all over the place, having free time in rooms that held whatever they enjoyed doing or still doing chores, cleaning areas that they had yet to clean or planning ahead for the next day.

All of them stopped us to say hi, and Lavi, being the person he was, struck up conversations with all of them. What could have taken ten minutes took an hour. Then, to add to the already fairly late time, Lavi put on the dreaded parody of Dracula, and insisted that we watch another movie afterwards. When I had seen the stacks and stacks of DVDs inside the huge black cupboard against the wall, I wasn't sure if I had been expecting it or if it still came as a shock.

I wasn't surprised, however, that there was a fifty inch HDTV, considering how easily Lavi had pawned off one in the school. I wasn't surprised that there was both a PS3 and an X-box360, or that there were already tons of games stacked next to both systems.

After the movies were over, Lavi had pulled out two scripts, giving me that grin that said he wouldn't take no for an answer even if I tried. Now, two hours later, after practicing every line that Lavi had (since I refused to practice all of my lines), we were simply sitting here. I felt like my brain was going to shut down at any moment, and considering how much I had done today I wouldn't doubt it actually would.

"What time is it?" I asked, not really noticing that Lavi hadn't answered my question. I didn't really care, either. If Lavi wanted to answer something, he would have answered it by now.

"Hehe…it's one in the morning." Lavi muttered, almost guiltily. I blinked, dropping my arms and staring at him.

"Already?" I asked. Lavi nodded, pointing behind me, and I turned. A clock hung on the wall, ticking away. How had I not noticed it before? Usually I noticed annoying ticking sounds.

"Are you tired?" Lavi asked, noting the way I slumped over the back of the couch. My head hanging uselessly, I uttered an odd sound. Lavi laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Alright, I'll show you to your room."

I heard him stand up, and even though I was so tired I still felt my heart skip a beat. "I'm going to have my own room?" I asked, sitting up. I had been going for the fast effect, but I was so tired that I moved like a snail.

"Yeah. I told you that when we first got here. Did you forget, or were you just not listening?" Lavi asked, raising an accusing eyebrow. I pursed my lips.

"Shut up." I muttered, pushing myself off the couch. Unfortunately, when I was tired, I didn't have very good balance. In my clumsiness, my knees buckled under me, and I fell onto the table. A burst of laughter came from somewhere in the room, and I groaned. "It's not funny…" I muttered, leaning forward and cradling my head in my hands.

Sitting there on the couch, it had been a lot easier to hide just how tired I was, but now that I was moving around there was no way I could hide what I was like when I was tired.

"Allen, you want some help?" Lavi asked, suddenly next to me. His hands were on my shoulders, and when I raised my head he was staring down at me with both sympathy and amusement. "You're not used to staying up this late, are you?"

"No, I am. I usually stay up later than this on a normal day." I sighed out. "But that's just it; this hasn't really been a normal day. I'm exhausted."

"My house can do that to people." Lavi smiled, crouching down and pulling one of my arms over his shoulders. "Here, you can sleep in my room tonight. It's a lot closer than your room is."

"What about you…?" I muttered as he dragged me up into a standing position.

"Well, I'm not going to let you kick me out of my own bed. I'm going to sleep in there, too." Lavi said cheerfully, and I frowned.

"That'll be weird." I stated plainly.

"Only if you make it." He grunted, dragging me out of the living area. I barely had to walk. I didn't realize how strong Lavi really was until now, as he pretty much carried me all the way to a door made of oak. I wasn't really sure how I noticed what kind of wood it was when I was barely able to pay attention to the fact that my arm was around Lavi and I needed to walk, but when he opened the door, not turning on the light, I had no idea what his room looked like.

I barely even noticed when he dropped me on a very comfortable surface, which I guessed was his bed, and listened to him rustling about. As I freely took it upon myself to find where the blankets ended and buried myself under them, making sure I had a pillow for my head, Lavi continued to rustle around. I fell asleep before he came into the bed, and the last thing I remembered was seeing the moon outside of a large glass window.

That night was the first night I did not suffer from nightmares. At first, it was just a black, dreamless sleep, but then things started to change. Instead of a black abyss, it became a sort of blue black, like it was midnight. Stars were above me, and in front of me was a sort of cottage, a single candle lit in one of the windows.

"Why can't you just accept who you are?" A voice said from in front of me, and I looked to where it came from. I was surprised to find Lavi there, dressed in medieval type clothing, with no green headband or orange scarf or eye patch. His face was filled with compassion and grief. I stared at his face in wonder, storing it in my memory forever. I wasn't sure I had ever really seen Lavi's true beauty before this.

"If I accept who I am, then I would have to accept that I cannot be with you." I said determinedly. Lavi frowned, staring into my eyes. I wondered, did I no longer have those ugly scars?

"I don't matter anymore." He whispered, a flash of pain reaching his eyes. It was gone as soon as it came.

"You'll always matter to me." I snapped, angry that he would say such a thing.

"Maybe to you, but not to anyone else. Even if I do matter to you, eventually you'll forget about me. That's only human nature." Lavi argued, his voice low and reasoning. What would his face look like bathed in moonlight? Would it be possible for him to look any more beautiful? It seemed that it was a new moon in this odd little world, which meant I would be unable to find out.

"I won't forget! Ever!" I yelled, desperately, begging. I sounded doubtful even to myself.

"You should leave." Lavi whispered, turning away from me. _Don't go._

"Come back to the castle! I'll find a way to keep you there! Please, come back!" I cried, reaching towards him. _Don't leave me._

"I can't anymore. That's not my world…your majesty." Lavi sounded reluctant to say the last part, and he reached the door to the cottage. No matter how much I willed myself to, my feet didn't move. I wanted to run after him, to slap him or something and force him to listen to me, but instead I fell to my knees weakly.

"Don't call me that…" I whispered, though those weren't the words I wanted to come out of my mouth. I wanted to say _stop being such a drama queen and just listen to me_. "I don't want you to call me that. You're my best friend. If anyone…if anyone should call me by my name, it's you."

"What about the other people?" Lavi asked, suddenly turning around. He looked angry. "What about the people of your kingdom? Must they call you Your Majesty in order for them to please you? Why am I the only exception? They're people, too! If you understood that, you wouldn't be on your knees groveling just for me to come back!"

Honestly, I agreed with him. "Then what should I do? Tell me! How should I treat these people when they aren't even _my_ people? I'm not the heir to the throne! I never will be! I. Am. Useless."

Was I really that pathetic?

"Allen." Lavi whispered, suddenly looking at me differently. He returned to my Lavi. Slowly, an eye patch began to pour out of his eye, causing a shiver to run through me. It formed around his eye, tying itself around his head, and suddenly I found the real Lavi staring at me, a huge grin splayed across his face.

"Lavi…" I muttered, gaining control over my body once again. I sat there uselessly, staring up at him with a frown. "That was really creepy."

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, it was. You okay?"

"Yeah…" I sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. Was something pressing into my hand?

"You're not useless, Allen. You've really helped me a lot." Lavi said, his face beginning to blur. I frowned, sure I felt something pressing into my hand. "You shouldn't beat yourself up so much."

"Lavi…you're starting to blur." I stated bluntly.

"Aw crap…you were still dreaming!" suddenly, he vanished completely, along with the scene, and I found myself staring up at a dark ceiling. The pain in my hand was starting to get really intense. I blinked a few times, looking to the side, and very nearly jumped out of my skin.

"What're you doing?" I cried, sitting up. I fell right back down, having knocked my head into Lavi's and reached for the spot I had hit. "Ow…"

"That hurt…" Lavi muttered, clutching his own head and sitting back. For a minute, we sat there, rubbing our sore spots. "You really don't sleep well, do you?"

"What do you mean?" I grunted, still rubbing my head. My other hand appeared to be trapped by Lavi's leg, explaining why it was in pain, though it didn't explain why he was sitting cross legged like that when it was still clearly night time.

"Well, you started talking in your sleep, and I thought I woke you up, but I guess not. You said 'You're starting to blur', and then I realized your eyes weren't open. After that you woke up, though." Lavi explained, grinning all the while. I couldn't remember what I had just dreamed about, though I had an odd image of Lavi without his eye patch. What had I dreamed about? All I remembered was the pain in my hand.

"Well, the reason I woke up was probably because you're on my hand." I pointed out, attempting to pull my hand out from under him. Lavi blinked, surprised, and moved for me. Relief filled me, or rather, my hand.

"Sorry…" Lavi said guiltily. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry about it." I sighed out, followed by a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Probably around four thirty." Lavi said happily. I raised an eyebrow. Why was he so excited?

"Are you going back to sleep?" I asked, already feeling the need to sleep more.

"Sure, but not until I've gotten a snack." Lavi replied, as if this were normal. "You want one?"

I paused, thinking about this. On one hand, I could try and go back to sleep while knowing that Lavi was creeping around this huge house by himself, possibly doing more than just that (I never knew with him), or on the other hand I could just go with him, and get food into my stomach, which was starting to feel a little empty since dinner.

"All right…I'll come…" I muttered, rolling over. I was a little surprised that the edge of the bed was right there; I had been expecting to roll over a couple more times, but instead ended up on the floor right away. Moaning in humiliating agony, I let myself go limp, staring up at the ceiling with a pout.

"Wow, Allen. You're pro." Lavi laughed, his head popping into my view as he leaned over the bed. He reached out a hand, which I grudgingly took, and helped me up.

"You shut up…" I muttered, yawning again. Lavi chuckled, getting off the bed and heading for the door.

"Come on. If we aren't quick, Angela will notice us." Lavi chimed, opening his door and stepping into the darkness beyond. A sense of dread filled me as soon as he said Angela, and seeing how dark it was out there didn't help.

"Lavi, wait for me!" I hissed, rushing after him. Following him through a huge, creepy house at four in the morning definitely wasn't my idea of fun, especially when he had made it sound like Angela was on the prowl, but somehow he led me to a kitchen. The light was still on, though nobody was inside, and I found myself marveling at the mere size of the room.

Everything was there that you could think of for a kitchen. The best pots, pans, knives, everything. In a glass cabinet there sat the best china, and five different huge fridges were spread throughout the room. There were four sinks, and surprisingly only one dishwasher. Did they wash their dishes by hand?

"Come on, the guys usually leave something to snack on over here." Lavi whispered, bringing me to a cupboard in the far corner. It felt like it had taken forever to walk across the kitchen. We passed two amazingly huge ovens that were top grade along the way.

"This place is huge…" I commented quietly, soaking in everything as we reached the cupboard Lavi had pointed to. He opened it up, and I felt my mouth salivate. Inside were tons of different types of snacks, including bags of chocolate bars and jars of brownies and macaroons and other baked goodies that didn't need to be refrigerated. "Are all of those…home made?"

"Yep. We have a baker, so he tends to bake snacks for me every night. I have a tendency to come around here late at night." Lavi winked at me, grabbing the jar of brownies. On the highest shelf were tons of different kinds of cereal, and one in particular caught my eye.

"Hey, Lavi…can I have some of that?" I asked, pointing to the box of Lucky Charms near the front. Lavi looked at what I was pointing to and grinned.

"Yeah, sure. Can you grab the Coco Puffs, too?" He asked, opening the jar of brownies and stuffing two in his mouth at once. Happy now, I climbed onto the counter and grabbed the two aforementioned cereal boxes.

Minutes later, I was happily enjoying the taste of my favorite cereal, sitting at the island in the center of the kitchen on a cushioned stool.

"You know, you're way more open to this kind of thing than Yuu is." Lavi commented before shoving another spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"I'm not really surprised…" I muttered, smiling. "I'm hard pressed to even accept the fact that he would agree to a sleep over."

"He says 'it's not a sleep over, I'm just staying over because I'm too lazy to go home.'" Lavi said in a terrible impression of Kanda. I laughed.

"I can imagine that," I said, taking another bite of cereal. Lavi beamed, seemingly proud of himself. When I finished my mouthful, I looked at him curiously. I felt like now would be a good time to ask him. "Hey, Lavi…why do you hate your house so much?"

Lavi didn't answer at first, his smile fading, chewing thoughtfully on his food while avoiding my gaze, before swallowing and heaving a heavy sigh. "I guess you wouldn't really be able to understand…" he muttered.

He grabbed a brownie, and started to tear it into pieces instead of eating it. I wanted to ask what I couldn't understand, but I had a feeling he wasn't finished.

"Until a couple of years ago, it was only Angela and a few hired employees in this house besides me and Gramps. There were no forty eight people who were all around my age that I could talk to and hang out with. When I was younger, the only friends I had were Yuu and Lenalee. Grandpa never really let them come over, saying they would interrupt my teachings, so I never really saw them.

"Every day, I had to go around this house, completely alone. There was never anyone around, since this place was so big and there were only around five maids, so I never really had anyone to talk to. I was almost always alone, stuck in this huge house, and I spent most of my time in the back garden. That was the only place in this house that I could actually stand.

"The only time I really spent with others was when I was being tutored. Would you enjoy living in a place like this as a kid, completely alone and with no friends to spend your time with? All you had to do was adult stuff, since there was no play room or toys around or anything? I wasn't aloud to play with toys; I had to read books or study ancient languages and writing. I never really had a proper childhood, and that childhood was spent in an old, empty house that will always be seen to me as the place I spent the loneliest days of my life."

I stared at Lavi for a long time, forgetting about my cereal, and wondered how he must have felt as a child, alone and having to grow up so much faster than most people. I had never really considered how tough rich people probably actually had it, though I wasn't so sure many rich kids had to go through the same thing Lavi had to go through.

"Now that there's people here, I get to socialize a bit more in my house, but it's already too late. Maybe I wouldn't hate this place so much if it had always been like this, but by the time the first orphan came around I already hated it here too much. Hardly anyone really knows me here, since I spend as much time as possible away from here. To be honest, I was really reluctant to bring you here. I would have rather stayed somewhere else, like at your place, or just not spend the night with you at all, but then I thought…

"If anyone could make me forget about those days, it was probably you." Lavi smiled at me, but it was not the same smile I was used to. It was sad, hesitant, as if he were unsure of himself. He had never talked this much about himself, and I couldn't help but feel awe towards him. Instead of understanding him more, I only felt myself more mystified towards him.

"Me?" I asked, frowning gently. "Why me?"

"Do you really want to know?" Lavi asked, smiling a little. I paused, thinking about that for a moment, before sighing.

"I'm not really sure." I muttered. "Is it good or bad?"

"Depends on your point of view." Lavi replied, and I rolled my eyes.

"That was helpful." I said. Lavi smiled.

"Well, you answered your own question." He said, and I blinked rapidly.

"How?" I asked. "What'd I do? What'd I say?"

"Nothing." Lavi hummed, wiping the brownie crumbs into his hand and standing up, going over to a garbage can. "Are you done your cereal yet?"

"No…not yet…" I looked down at the cereal, which was starting to get soggy. I had grabbed a huge bowl, and was beginning to regret it. I had been too intrigued by Lavi's speech. Ignoring the cereal, I looked back to Lavi. "Tell me how I answered your question!" I demanded, pouting.

"You're really like a child." Lavi chuckled, sitting back down. I only just noticed that he had finished his Coco Puffs. "I've noticed that tonight. The way you talk and the way you act…It's different than usual. You let your guard down."

I swallowed, biting my lip. "I'm not acting like a child…"

"Saying that right there only proves it," Lavi said cheekily, and I glared at him.

"You're not one to talk." I replied firmly. Lavi grinned.

"Nope, but at least I can admit it." He teased, and I sighed.

"Yeah, yeah…" I muttered. "Can we go back to sleep now?"

"Sure. You still want to stay in my room?" He asked. I froze, my heart accelerating. I held down the blush that now threatened to cover my cheeks. In all of my tiredness and all of the distractions, I had lacked to notice that I had just spent three hours sleeping in the same bed as Lavi, and was now eating a late night snack with him.

"I can sleep on the couch…" I mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Psht." Lavi sounded, and I looked up. He was rolling his eyes, waving his hand around. "Yeah right. You'd fall victim to Angela or one of the maids. They're not very gentle with guys who're gorgeous."

"Gorgeous…?" I asked, confused. Lavi stuck out his tongue.

"They keep on saying it." He complained, suddenly pouting. "All the girls keep on saying how you're super gorgeous and kind…It bugs me…"

I laughed, covering my mouth. "They're saying that?" I asked. "And you're jealous because of it?"

"Mhmm…" Lavi's eyes became watery and large, and he gave me the puppy dog pout. I stared at him, my mouth agape, trying very hard not to blush or burst forward and hug him. He looked too cute. It should be a sin how cute he suddenly looked.

"I-idiot…" I stuttered.

"I'm not an idiot." Lavi frowned, looking offended, and he looked away from me. Afraid I may have actually offended him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. When he looked back at me, though, he was grinning madly. "You are!"

"Eh…" He really was exhausting. "I should stop worrying about hurting your feelings…"

("…")

I wasn't so sure on how Lavi found this as a proper way to treat a guest.

Waking me up at six in the morning was the first thing that was wrong.

The second thing was bringing me down to the kitchens. The third thing was what made the second thing wrong; he _left_ me there. With all of his maids and butlers and cooks and other employers, I was left in the kitchen, while he went off to do his own thing. He refused to tell me what exactly it was that he was doing.

"He's probably just doing what he usually does in the mornings." One of the maids confided when she asked why I was sulking.

"What exactly is it that he does?" I asked, praying for his sake that it was well worth it.

"Well, no one knows, but he does it every morning. That other guy, Kanda, whenever he stays over he usually just goes and does his own thing around the house, but I guess Lavi was being considerate since he knew that you had no idea what you were doing, so he brought you here to where everyone was so that you wouldn't get lost or lonely." The girl explained, smiling as if that would wash away all of my anger.

It didn't help at all.

Knowing Lavi, he probably just decided to leave me here so that I had to deal with all the maids staring at me in creepy ways. It appeared he had not been lying earlier that morning.

"Lavi's been acting kind of weird lately, huh?" Someone said, a male. I blinked, looking to where he stood not far off, cooking French Toast. I tried to ignore the intoxicating smell coming from his frying pan as I tried to pay attention to what he was saying. "He's been…cheerful."

"Yeah. I was surprised." A maid joined in, sounding surprised indeed.

"It started near the beginning of the school year, didn't it? One of my friends from the school said that he started really getting into the class and even started teaching the class because the teacher was getting tons of the facts wrong. Apparently he was the best teacher they ever had." The cook said, sounding a little awed.

"I'm happy for him. When I first came here and I saw him, I thought he looked really depressed. I tried befriending him, but he sort of just… shrugged me off. Whenever that Kanda guy came around he seemed to get a little more cheerful, but most of the time he just spent his time alone, sitting in that garden. I like this Lavi better. He's nicer, and he doesn't shun me when I try to talk to him…" I was pretty sure that last part sounded dreamy.

"What do you think?" The cook suddenly turned to me, smiling. He was somewhere around nineteen maybe, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes.

"I'm not sure." I said, shrugging. "I didn't really know Lavi until September. The way he acts now is just…normal to me."

Everyone within hearing distance suddenly gave me a suspicious look, making me feel nervous under their stares.

"Did I…say something?" I asked.

"Maybe it was you." A new maid piped up. I felt my cheeks redden.

"No way…" I muttered.

"Oh, come on. What else would have made the young master so happy? Everyone else he's known for ages, but as soon as you appear he's happy! The timing fits and everything, it's sort of like it was meant to be…" Another maid piped up, her cheeks reddening as she went into a dreamy state. A few people laughed, but none of them said anything to contradict it.

"That's not possible." I said as firmly as I could, but I only received doubtful looks. With a heavy sigh, I gave up, letting them enjoy their little fantasy. At least I knew the truth…I hoped.

("…")

An entire week. For a week, I was stuck practicing the play with Lavi. We didn't go back to his house, instead going to my house or rehearsing at the theatre. Master was beginning to get fed up with the constant play lines coming from my room, and had started leaving the house every night when he saw Lavi with me.

We were now a week into December, and it was probably the hardest week I had gone through since I had met Lavi. I had no idea how serious he could get with something until now—he refused to let me go with only reading the book for the lines. He insisted that I actually act, make gestures, and try my hardest to go without the book, which was already required of me now that the play was beginning to progress under the watch of the director, who had kept her promise of keeping a strict watch on me.

Now it was the weekend again, and as soon as Club Activities were over (we spent another day staring at the TV screen) Lavi had dragged me off to the theatre, where we were now about to go into our very first dress rehearsal for one of the scenes. Everybody was eager to see what I would look like wearing a costume.

"Those gloves are perfect," the director said, examining my worn out gloves. I had worn my white ones today for a bit of change.

"So I can keep them on?" I asked, suddenly hopeful.

"Yes." She said, smiling at me. "Lavi told me you never take those things off; is that true?"

"Yes…" I whispered, looking away from her.

"Good; then that means we won't have to supply you with any." She said, still smiling. I smiled weakly, trying not to show how the comment had upset me. "Your costume's hanging up on one of the racks back there, it should be next to Lavi's. Go get dressed."

"Yes, ma'am." I said firmly, turning away and heading back stage.

As I looked for the racks, I thought about my time spent with Lavi. I had thought that after everything that had happened before the hiking trip, Lavi couldn't possibly act any different around me, that he had already showed me what he was really like, but I was wrong. The way he looked at me, the way he talked to me, everything changed. Every little question I asked he would suddenly answer completely honestly, as if he couldn't lie to me.

I had at first thought that it was hopeful thinking, but when Master had asked Lavi a question that I had asked him earlier that day and he had answered in such a vague and cheerful way, whereas with me he had been completely serious and had talked for a full minute and a half, I had known that it wasn't my imagination.

Somehow, I had gotten Lavi to be more honest with me, and to be a lot more serious. I enjoyed the fact that I could bring this out in him where he wasn't like that with others, but at the same time I sort of missed the old Lavi that would smile and joke about all of my questions.

Of course, that Lavi hadn't actually disappeared. He still joked about things and teased me all the time, but that was only after he had answered a question almost completely honestly. _Almost._

I still felt like he was hiding something important, something vital. Like I was missing something, or like he just completely avoided it. There was still one thing he wouldn't talk about as earnestly as he did with most of my questions; his past. He told me about when he was a baby, and he told me about the time that the orphans had come in, but in between that he was vague and very too the point.

I generally tried to avoid any question that would bring me there.

"There it is…" I mumbled under my breath, finding the costume with my name. I pulled it off the rack, and stared at it for a full minute before finally accepting it was real. "This might be a little too ironic…" I sighed, tucking the costume that looked almost exactly like my Halloween costume but embroidered with gold under my arm.

No one else was backstage, every one out front, most of them already in their costumes and ready for the play, waiting for me. Most of the costumes on the racks were for the people who hadn't arrived yet or who weren't in any of the scenes we would be rehearsing. Feeling it would be safe, though creeping behind the rack that I had gotten my costume from, I began to take of my clothes.

An odd sense of dread began to build in my stomach that I didn't understand, now beginning to pull on the white leggings that were part of the costume. As I leaned over, wondering what as wrong with me, a name tag caught my attention.

I stared at it for a long moment, not noticing the footsteps coming closer, the dread in my stomach spreading to my chest.

_Lavi Bookman._

"Allen, what are you doing crouching behind there…" His voice trailed off as he peered over the top of the rack, looking down on me, where I stood completely shirtless.

Lavi hadn't gotten his costume yet.

End Chapter

A/N: Oh…my…god…

I don't think I've written that furiously in ages. Seriously.

So, this is definitely the longest chapter I have ever done, and I hope you appreciate it, because I seriously went through a lot of trouble getting it done. I had so many blocks in the roads and new ideas and sudden doubts that this chapter was way too difficult to write for me.

During the whole thing I was like 'Oh no, am I making all too OOC? Is he still in character?' I'm still not sure I'm satisfied with the way I wrote him this chapter, but after all that, I really don't want to write this whole thing out again. Besides, I really enjoyed the whole sleep over thing…

Well, review, tell me what you think! Heehee.

Did anyone notice how I tried to make the title of this chapter similar to the relationship between Lavi and Allen?


	14. Delusional?

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

A/N: About last chapter, there was something I forgot to mention. When it was pointed out to me I felt stupid for not adding it into the actual chapter, so I'll just tell you now. Terrance's concert was canceled, and she spent her night in her room crying because of evil pretty boys who stole away her young master. XD

Chapter 14: Delusional?

"_Haha, look at that boy, Alfred!" The boy said, his short brown hair neatly gelled while wearing an extremely expensive suit. It seemed like, despite the fact that the man seemed to actually be named Carl, the boy enjoyed calling his personal servant the servant of Batman. "He looks dirty and poor! Why's he here?"_

"_Young master, please keep your voice down. This is a funeral." The old man whispered, kneeling down next to the boy. Not far off, the said dirty boy glared at the rich boy._

"_Allen, get over here." Cross Marian said, watching Allen from a distance. Allen turned, frowning, dragging his feet to the person he called Master. That young boy had an old man calling him Master, but how could that be possible? Younger people were supposed to respect their elders, not demand things from them. That was how Allen learned._

"_I want to leave this place! It's boring and nobody's paying any attention to me, just to that dead guy." The boy continued, and Allen stopped walking towards his master. Cross winced, looking away from the boy. He knew how hard it most likely was for him._

"_Take it back…" Allen whispered, turning. The rich boy looked at Allen, his nose wrinkled in disgust._

"_Take what back?" He jeered, sticking his tongue out and pulling on his face. Allen snapped, running at the boy, tackling him down to the ground and beginning to hit him with everything he had. Under him, the boy began to cry._

"_Allen!" Allen froze, his fist just about to hit the boy in the face again. The boy's nose was bleeding, and he had a black eye. Allen stood up, and turned towards Cross, who had been the one to bark his name._

"_I'm sorry, Master…" he whispered, dragging his feet to where Cross stood. The boy, who was now crying and bleeding, suddenly started to laugh. He seemed to be using his last resort, considering how badly beaten he had just been._

"_Haha, you're a slave! No wonder you're so dirty and ugly!" He called out, and everyone stared at him who had been watching. No one seemed to want to help the young boy anymore, not even his servant._

"_Watch your mouth, kid." Cross whispered icily, taking Allen by the shoulder and leading him out of the room. Silent tears streamed down the fatherless boy's face._

* * *

I stared into Lavi's eye, my heart clenching in fear.

"Allen?" Lavi asked, his face suddenly twisting with so many emotions that I couldn't tell what he was thinking. At one point I thought I saw understanding cross his features, but before I could be sure, all of the emotions calmed down, settling for one: anger.

Why was he angry?

"I can explain…" I began, though I wasn't sure how I would explain. I didn't really want to. I'd never spoken of that night to anyone, not even Master. With Master, it was something mutual.

"No need." Lavi spoke so sharply that it cut a hole in my stomach. Something inside of me felt so wretched that I felt like puking.

"Lavi…!" I cried helplessly as he turned and left, having yanked his costume off the rack so forcefully that I was surprised the hanger didn't break. I watched him storm away, feeling tears sting my eyes.

Two major questions were currently running through my head. One; why did I feel so unbelievably guilty? Two; why was Lavi angry with me?

He wasn't acting disgusted, he wasn't being overly nice, he wasn't going off blabbing it to everyone—he was just angry. The way he had acted, it was like I had just told him something unreasonable or had just had a huge argument.

"Allen, get out here! We're about to start!" The director's voice cut through my thoughts, and I quickly pulled on the costume, ignoring the terrible feeling in my chest.

When I got on stage, Lavi wasn't there. I didn't have a chance to look for him, the director grabbing my arm and dragging me to the middle of the room. For a moment, I was stuck, unsure of what to do, until one of the girls who played as the princess I was supposed to fall in love with mouthed my lines to me, giving me two thumbs up.

I would have to kiss her, when the time came.

Quickly, I said my lines, earning a small glare from the director, all the while letting my eyes scan the area, praying that Lavi would appear, give me a smile, reassure me that I had just been imagining things.

However, he didn't show up until his lines came. He suddenly ran onto the stage from backstage, his costume on, only lacking the makeup. He said his lines perfectly, looking me directly in the eyes, and the smile he gave me was perfect…for acting.

When we had been practicing these lines before, doing rehearsals, he would smile at me genuinely, using them as chances to say 'good work, keep it up.' Now, it was just because he had to.

I had very obviously not been imagining things.

When we were finished, the director pulled me aside.

"What was that?" She demanded, looking furious. I swallowed, looking away from her eyes. "That was crap! I don't know what happened between you and Lavi, but if you don't fix it by the next weekend then so help me god, both of you are out of this play!"

I looked up, surprised. "How did you…?"

"I know exactly what that kid looks like when he's upset. Who do you think taught him how to act? He wasn't a born natural like you are." The woman replied, suddenly a little more tender. "Look, whatever's wrong with him, it can only point to you." I winced, wondering why everyone had to make it my fault. "I won't say anything to him, I don't want him forcing himself to be friends with you. Instead, I'm going to _trust_ you, and leave him in your hands."

"And if I can't make it work…?" I asked slowly, wincing as I thought of the possibilities.

"It's doubtful I have to tell you." The woman replied, rolling her eyes. I sighed, nodding.

"Alright. I'll…try my hardest." I sighed.

"The way you're acting right now, it doesn't really seem like it," she said, giving me a stern look before walking away. As she did, I noticed Lavi walking out of the theatre, alone, his normal clothes back on.

I hesitated. Should I go after him now? She had given me a full week to get him back, but should I go after him now?

Then again, wouldn't he just get angry with me? More so than he already was? Maybe I should just give him time, let him be angry with me before I try and figure out _why_ he was angry with me.

"The best way to figure out what's wrong with a person is to do it right way."

"Yeah, but this is Lavi…he's different…" I sighed, bringing a hand to my forehead. Then I froze, turning slowly, surprised. "What're you doing here?!"

"Don't act so surprised to see me, Allen!" Lenalee pouted, mocking offense. "Fou's here, too. Lavi called, told us to pick you up. He said something about not wanting to be around you, so I guessed that's why you were looking after him like a lost little puppy."

"I was not looking…!" I stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. Why bother arguing with Lenalee?

"That's what I thought." Lenalee chimed, jumping down from where she sat on the stage. I looked around, searching for Fou, wondering where she was if she had come, too. "She had to go to the washroom. She was complaining the whole way here about how badly she needed to go, too."

"Why didn't she go at home?" I asked, confused.

"I didn't give her the time. As soon as I got the call, I forced her to go. She didn't even have a chance to buckle her shoes up." Lenalee chuckled, then looked up at the stage. "I was really surprised, Allen. You're surprisingly good at acting."

"Yeah, well, I sucked today." I sighed.

"So did Lavi. So that's how I knew that it wasn't your true abilities. That, and I talked to the director. She said you were amazing, better than half the people here, including Lavi." Lenalee gave me a proud, motherly smile, and I laughed.

"Yeah right, Allen probably just had to smile for her to say that." A voice drawled, teasing but sounding close to serious. I smiled.

"Fou!" I said happily, turning to her. She looked a little taken aback, her pink hair in a style I had never seen it before. She had it actually styled, with bobby pins and most likely some hair spray. "Is that…eyeliner?"

"Shut up, shortie." Fou muttered, suddenly blushing. She even wore feminine clothing; a cute little blue dress, cutting off just above her knees, with a pair of gladiator sandals on her feet.

"I gave her a little make over." Lenalee explained. "She was over at my house when Lavi called, and, well, we weren't really planning on going anywhere…" she trailed off, laughing a little. "Anyways, that's what happened. So, let's get going."

"You're taking me home?" I asked, and Lenalee gave a very loud laugh.

"No, silly! We're going out." She smiled at me, and it wasn't a creepy smile that said 'you have to come with us or I'll give you one of my furious kicks', it was a kind, reassuring smile. When I looked at Fou, she was giving me the same smile. This was the first time I had talked to Fou normally since the hiking trip.

"Thanks, you two." I whispered. I looked back to the door Lavi had left out of. Why had he called Lenalee? What was he thinking? Did he know Lenalee would comfort me? Was he worried about me getting home? There were so many things that could be going on through his head, but I didn't have the slightest idea of what actually was.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. He just needs some time." This time, it wasn't Lenalee. Fou was looking at the door, too, a far away expression on her face. When she looked at me, it seemed almost like acceptance.

"Now, let's get this lovesick puppy some chocolate." Lenalee chimed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"Chocolate?" I asked, growing hopeful. Lenalee laughed, and so did Fou. They both looked at me oddly, and I frowned. Why were they…? "H-hey! Wh-what do you mean, lovesick?" I squeaked, my cheeks turning red.

"Don't bother trying to deny it, Allen. It was obvious enough before you figured it out, but now that you realized your own feelings I don't think even Kanda misses it. You're in love with Lavi." Lenalee said calmly, looking me in the eye. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"B-but…" I said weakly, looking at her in agony.

"If it was anybody but Lavi, I think I would have been freaked out," Lenalee continued. "You never really came across as somebody who would like a guy, even if you were a little feminine. But the day you walked into the club, the second I saw you with Lavi and his arm around you, I guess it kind of just…worked. I kind of actually started to cheer you on after a while. Of course, silently."

"If it were anybody but Lavi…" Fou sighed, and I looked at her in surprise. "Well, I think I would have ended up murdering you if it were anyone but him."

"Er…" I swallowed nervously.

"Anyways, we can have a nice long talk about all of this later. Let's go, we're going to the hair salon." Lenalee clapped me on the back, and I squeaked.

"The…hair salon…?" I asked, a little worried now.

"Not for you, silly! Although, you could definitely use a trim." Lenalee chuckled. "I'm getting my hair cut, and so is Fou. After that, we're getting our nails done. We're having a girl's night kind of thing."

"And…I have to come along?" I asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Yup! And I already asked my brother, and he said it's okay for you to sleep over tonight." Lenalee said happily. "He's perfectly fine with it after I told him you have your heart set on Lavi."

"You told…your brother…?" I asked, my eye twitching. The only good thing that could come out of that would be that he would stop hating me when it came to Lenalee.

"Come on, shortie." Fou said, taking me by the arm and dragging me to the nearest exit. "The car's parked over here."

"Eh…" I grunted, letting her drag me outside. It felt like I didn't have a soul left.

Out in the parking lot, Lenalee and Fou led me to a very feminine convertible. It was a light blue, the hood down even though it looked like it was going to rain pretty soon.

"Who's car is this?" I asked, blinking up at the sky before looking at it again.

"It's mine. Komui bought it for me when I turned sixteen, but Fou's going to drive. Somehow she actually has her license…" Lenalee glared at Fou suspiciously, who began to whistle and swung a set of keys on a key chain. She walked towards the car, avoiding our gazes. "The hood doesn't work, so if it rains we're screwed, but everything else works fine."

"Lenalee…" I laughed, raising a hand. "It's really weird when you use language like that…"

"Huh? What language?" Lenalee looked at me innocently, as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I sighed, dropping my head hopelessly.

"Never mind." I muttered, dragging my feet to the car. Lenalee clapped me on the back before walking by with bouncy steps. She seemed extremely excited.

How was it that girls were able to find things like makeovers so much fun? To me, makeovers were like torture, something I only did when I absolutely had to, yet girls did it all the time just so they could have a bit of a change and have fun for a day. Was it fun going around all day doing a bunch of stuff that took forever?

I climbed over the car in order to get into the back seat instead of opening the door, though Lenalee had to open the door in order to get in, since she was wearing a skirt. I wondered how girls wore things like skirts in the winter.

"Damn it, why's it so cold?" Fou hissed, pulling out a black winter jacket. I blinked in surprise.

"It's winter, of course it's cold." Lenalee replied, pulling out her own winter jacket. I stared at them blankly, beginning to wonder if maybe girls were just insane. Besides, where had those jackets come from? Under the seat?

"So what hair salon are we going to?" Fou asked, having zipped up her jacket and started the car. Lenalee looked back at me and gave me a reassuring smile before answering.

"How about Rita's?" She asked, buckling up and putting her hands in her pockets.

"Alright." Fou muttered, and pulled out of their parking spot. I was beginning to get dizzy. Girls really were a mystery. "Can we stop by your house, though? I know you wanted to get Allen super quick, but it's _way_ colder out here than I thought it would be. I need pants."

"Yeah, I'm starting to agree…" Lenalee sighed, looking down at her own bare legs. There were goose bumps, and if Lenalee didn't wax or shave or whatever it was she did, then the hairs would have been standing up, too.

"So, basically, I'm the only sane person here?" I asked dully, looking down at myself. At least I was wearing jeans and a nice thick black hoodie.

"Well, I wouldn't really say that." Lenalee said, looking back. "The only reason we're wearing these is because we were playing dress up."

I stared at her for a very long minute, and after seeing that she was being completely serious, I let out a small sigh. "Yup, the only sane person."

"Stop your complaining, shortie. Besides, it was all Lenalee's idea." Fou called, her eyes on the road. Well, at least she wasn't going as fast as Kanda, though from the sounds of the engine, I think she was going as fast as she _could_ go. "She decided she'd take control and force me to do stuff, and then she decided she'd join in. We had to lock Komui out to make sure he didn't come in…"

"Why would he try and come in, anyways?" I asked. Was he a pervert?

"Oh, to try and get me to wear some of his own ideas. The last time I was trying on random outfits, he tried to make me wear this really old Christmas sweater and a pair of sweatpants, saying that would be perfect to go to school." Lenalee replied, sounding a little too aloof.

"Your brother…" I muttered, looking to the side, where the scenery dragged by. "Is really weird."

When Fou pulled up to the house, the two girls were out of the car in seconds, now shivering harder than ever. They ran into the house, saying nothing to me, and I let out a small sigh. There was no point in me going inside, and if I did I could find myself in a _very_ awkward situation with Komui, so it would be best to just stay where I was. It wasn't like Lenalee told me to come in, anyways.

"What're you doing in there?"

I jumped, turning towards where the voice had come from. Kanda was standing there, just outside his house, glaring at me. I had completely forgotten that Lenalee lived right next to him, and thinking about it now, it probably would have been better to go inside and deal with Komui. I wasn't sure I wanted to face Kanda right now.

"Lenalee and Fou picked me up from the theatre. Lavi…" I trailed off, looking away from Kanda's face. I didn't want to say 'Lavi saw my arm.'

Kanda knew about my arm. He had been the first to find out about it from everyone else. If there was anyone I could tell what had happened, it was him, but Kanda was the last person I wanted to have an in depth conversation with. It wasn't like he would sympathize or give me advice. Rather, he would be completely honest, and say the words I knew were true. Maybe it was what I needed, but I didn't _want_ it.

I didn't want to know the truth that was slowly creeping up on me. I didn't want to think about the one possibility that had popped into my head that seemed both least and most likely. I didn't want Kanda to confirm the fears that I hadn't even let myself think of yet.

"He called me." Kanda said, breaking into my thoughts. His words made my stomach squeeze. Just how many people had Lavi called? How many people had he let know about him being angry with me? Maybe he really had gone and blabbed to everyone. But if he had, wouldn't Lenalee and Fou not have come? Wouldn't they be acting awkward and not so friendly?

"What…did he say?" I whispered, refusing to meet Kanda's gaze. I didn't want to see his accusing glare that would only make me feel worse.

"He said to go pick you up, so that he wouldn't have to resort to Lenalee. He didn't want to subject you to her plans, but I said no." Kanda was short and simple with his answer, but I was a little surprised. Lavi had known Lenalee would do this? He had tried to get me out of this? "He saw it, didn't he?"

"S-saw what?" I asked, my throat tightening. I looked at Kanda's face, and he was giving me a look that said if I didn't tell him the truth, he would hurt me. I had already been hurt by him once; I didn't really want it to happen again.

"That _thing_." Kanda nodded his head in my direction, and his eyes strayed to my left arm. I winced.

"You don't have to call it that…" I whispered.

"Well, it's not exactly normal, is it?" Kanda snapped, and I winced again. I wanted to sink into my seat, to not have to have this conversation. "I heard it in his voice when he called me. I could tell something had happened, and the only thing that could have happened between you two that would cause that kind of reaction in him is if he saw that."

"How do you know?" I demanded, looking up. I was half desperate, half angry. What did he know? What did he know that I didn't?

"Lavi doesn't like secrets."

_Lavi doesn't like secrets…doesn't like secrets…secrets…_

I had been right. My fears were confirmed.

"Finding out such an important secret on accident from a person he thought he was so close to, how do you think that would make him feel? You two have been spending so much time together. He probably thought that you would show him something that important by now, of your own free will." Kanda began to walk towards me. "I'm not going to say anything else. You're the one who has to figure this out on your own. If you really care about that idiot, then you're the one who has to deal with it. Don't make it other people's problems."

I was silent, refusing to look up as his footsteps got closer and closer. Then, "He wasn't supposed to find out."

"This is your fault, bean sprout." Kanda snapped, and I looked up, biting my lower lip.

"I didn't want it to happen like this…" I moaned, a tear escaping. "We weren't even supposed to get this close…I wasn't supposed to…to…"

Hysteria was creeping up on me.

"Tch." Kanda finally reached the car and looked down at me. I felt like I was being sentenced to death. Kanda was definitely creepy enough to do something like that. "Stop being such a wuss and get him back already, stupid little fag."

"Kanda…" I whimpered, sniffling. "My name's Allen…"

"Idiot bean sprout." Kanda sighed, looking towards Lenalee's house. "Allen…" I was so shocked that I stopped crying, releasing my lower lip from my teeth, and stared up at him in silence. "I want your help with something."

"You just…said my name…" I whispered, unable to breathe properly.

"Well, it's not like you'll help me if I didn't." Kanda snapped. "You're so temperamental that you would have been stubborn and said no, just because I called you bean sprout."

"Kanda…you're actually really nice." I said hoarsely, smiling. Kanda's eyebrow twitched, and he looked at me, his teeth snapping shut. I swallowed, the smile vanishing. "I mean…uh…"

"Shut it, bean sprout, before you make another wrong move." Kanda snapped. "You're staying at Lenalee's tonight, right? Come to my house at ten. If you're not there, I swear to god, I will hunt you down and chop your head off." With that, Kanda turned and marched off, his whole body stiff. Had his cheeks been red when he had said that?

I wondered how hard it had been for Kanda to say that, and if he had just completely expanded his ability to keep control of his temper for the next few weeks. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing him that night. Besides, what was this all about? Why would he need my help? Plus, why the hell would he ask _me_ for help? Wouldn't Lavi be better?

Lavi…

"_Lavi doesn't like secrets."_

"Allen! You ready to go?" Lenalee called, her and Fou just walking out of the house. They were both wearing _much_ more suitable clothing, though I had a feeling Fou had to borrow Lenalee's clothes in order to still look that feminine. "I brought you some of my brother's home made snacks!" Lenalee added, holding up a large bag that most likely contained baked goods.

My mouth salivated, and immediately I forgot about Kanda and Lavi and the unbelievable feeling of guilt that was welling up inside of me. "Komui's cooking?" I asked, sitting properly in my seat again. "He's a really good cook!"

"Yeah, isn't he?" Fou commented, running around the car and getting into the driver's seat. Lenalee climbed over the door this time instead of opening it, passing me the plastic bag.

"This is compensation for making you come," Lenalee commented, buckling herself in. I just nodded, opening the bag and digging in.

Ten minutes later we were in front of a small salon, wedged in between a Subway and a drug store, the baked goods completely gone. Lenalee got out of the car first, followed by Fou, and then they both looked at me expectantly.

"You mean, you actually want me to go in there and watch you guys get your hair done?" I asked disbelievingly. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, come on. It'll be fun, and that way you can get your hair trimmed." Lenalee smiled at me, and it was the same kind smile she had given me before we had left the theatre. I paused, my mouth opening, about to say no, but then I let out a defeated sigh.

"All right. I'll come." I muttered, feeling my cheeks go red. "Only because you gave me all those baked goods, though."

"Excellent!" Lenalee chimed, watching me as I pulled myself out of the car. Taking my arm when I was standing properly, she dragged me off to the salon, Fou giving me an amused smile. I glared at her, not liking just how much she was enjoying this.

Inside, a total of three people were already getting their hair done, quite a few seats left empty. As soon as we entered, a delighted cry suddenly came from somewhere in the back of the room.

"Ah, Lenalee!" A voice said from the front, and I looked at the front desk. A young woman stood there, her hair a bright blue, cut in a short and funky style. The hair was so straight that I had to wonder if maybe she used more than just a straightener in order to get it like that. "You came!"

"Yep. I brought Fou along, too, and this is my friend Allen from school." Lenalee pointed to me, but before I could say hi, a body suddenly crashed into me, and strong arms suddenly wrapped around me.

"He's so adorable!" An irritating, very obviously male voice cried out, and suddenly a large mass of voices were surrounding me. The only voice I could understand, though, was the one that belonged to whoever was hugging me. "Get away! I want to hug this adorable boy! Leave us be!"

"Get…off!" I cried out, pushing the body. Probably from the combined forces of everyone who was trying to pry him off me and myself, he finally let go. He fell backwards, landing on his butt, and I stared down at my perpetrator.

A darker man sat there, his pink hair in cornrows, his eyes covered by a set of dark glasses. He wore a tiny white vest that showed half of his stomach, wearing a pair of way too tight white pants. "Oh, you all pulled me away from him!"

"Jerry, you can't just glomp any cute boy you see." The woman from the front chided, sighing.

"But he's so _cute_!" The man whined, standing up and brushing off his pants before looking at me again.

"Er…" what exactly was I supposed to say?

"Hair cut!" the man clapped his hands before sticking a hand out. "My name's Jerry, cutie. I'll be your stylist for today."

"Uh…okay…" I blinked a few times, looking at Lenalee. "I don't have any money, though. I'm only here for these two."

"Oh, I'll give you a free haircut, just because you're so cute!" Jerry squealed, suddenly squirming where he stood. I felt my eye twitch, wondering if I really wanted someone like him to cut my hair.

"Come on, Allen. You should get it done. Jerry's really good at haircutting, even if he doesn't seem like it." Lenalee smiled at me reassuringly, before giving Jerry a very stern look. "He only needs a trim. Don't go wild."

"Of co-o-ourse!" Jerry said, clapping his hands. "Well, come with me, I'll make you look pretty in no time!"

"I said a trim!" Lenalee snapped as Jerry took my arm, dragging me off.

"Yes, yes, but it'll be the best trim he's ever had!" Jerry dismissed, waving his hand around frantically.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" I muttered under my breath as he dragged me all the way to the back, sitting me down a little more forceful than necessary and throwing a towel behind my neck, then grabbed a plastic cover to put over my body.

I was surprised when he suddenly turned completely serious, grabbing a sharp pair of scissors and a spray bottle. He completely soaked my hair down before grabbing a comb, and then set to work.

It was silent between us for a long time, in which he only spoke when he asked if the length he was about to cut would be okay. As he set to work, I began to wonder if maybe he just wouldn't talk at all, but when he had finished one side and was starting on the other he suddenly spoke.

"Your necklace is very nice." He stated, though it was much calmer than anything else he had said.

"Huh?" I asked, looking in the mirror and checking my reflection, trying to see what necklace he was talking about. However, the plastic cover and the towel completely covered my neck from view. It took me a minute to realize he had meant the necklace Lavi had given me. "Oh, that one. It was from a friend."

"Must be a very good friend." Jerry commented, snipping another lock of hair. "A girl or a boy?"

"A boy." I muttered, looking away from the reflection. The necklace had been something of second nature to me, and I had honestly forgotten I had it on until Jerry had mentioned it. Now, I felt it against my skin, having been hidden under my shirt. It was like it was digging into me, a sudden burden, all the weight of my guilt going into it.

"Is he special to you?" Jerry asked.

"Very." I whispered, the room beginning to go a little blurry from lack of focusing in on anything. Jerry said nothing else, seeming to realize he had hit a rather tender subject.

I didn't really pay attention to anything, and I was only brought back to my own world when I suddenly felt the weight of the plastic sheet leave me. "Done." Jerry said happily, suddenly back to the man who had glomped me.

I looked in the mirror, and was surprised to find that it really was a nice trim. He had cut it relatively shorter, so that it went around my ears and the back was completely short, my bangs now reaching just above my eyes. However, there was still just enough length left for it to be considered 'shaggy'.

"Thank you." I said, looking at Jerry with a kind smile. It probably wasn't the best thing I could have done…not for me, anyways. A loud squeal erupted from his lips and he jumped on me, hugging me close to his body.

"Oh, you're so CUTE!" He exclaimed, before he suddenly vanished from on top of me. Able to breathe again, I looked around.

Jerry had been forcefully pulled off by a girl with very short hair that looked almost like mine, except much more feminine, mostly in the bangs. Very familiar violet eyes looked into mine, followed by another very familiar comforting smile.

"Lenalee?" I asked.

"Yup." She chimed, and gave me a peace sign. I gawked, blinking rapidly to make sure it wasn't my imagination.

"Where'd all your hair go?!" I cried, reaching forward and touching it just in case. Lenalee's cheeks turned a little red before she smiled at me again.

"I decided I wanted to do something different," she explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It wasn't.

"But…your hair was so pretty…" I moaned, pouting.

"Allen, are you okay?" Lenalee asked, frowning. "You're acting like you're a two year old."

I bit my lip, realizing she was right, and sighed. Maybe it was because I was being surrounded by girls and getting my hair cut and thinking about Lavi and in desperate need of a distraction. Right now, the best way to be distracted was to act like a completely different person, to act like nothing was wrong.

In my hysteria, I suppose I had become a little different than normal. Scratch that, a _lot_ different.

"Sorry." I muttered.

"It's nothing to be sorry about." Lenalee said calmly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This is about Lavi, isn't it?" she asked.

"Maybe a little…" I muttered, my cheeks reddening. Why was I telling her the truth?

"Well then, we'll talk about him while we get our nails done. That's always the best time to talk about that kind of stuff." Lenalee sounded a little too giddy, and when I looked into her face I couldn't help but wonder if maybe she, too, was acting a little strange.

Just like Kanda was acting strange, and so was Fou, who was actually letting Lenalee play around with her. Lavi, too was acting a little strange. I was starting to get a little dizzy.

Something else was going on besides me and Lavi. Something big.

Maybe it was because I had been so lost in the time I had been spending with Lavi, but it felt like I hadn't really paid attention to anyone else lately. For all I knew, it could be Fou's birthday today, or Lenalee could be holding some kind of party. Kanda could be going into surgery.

I didn't think any of these were true, but from the lack of attention I had been paying everyone lately, they very well could be.

"Is it really…okay for things to be like this?"

"For things to be like what?" Lenalee asked, curious. I laughed nervously, scratching my cheek.

"It's nothing, really." I said earnestly. I hadn't meant to let that question slip. However, I did want it to be answered. _Was_ it okay to leave things the way they were? Would it be okay for me to continue to be happy with everyone, to laugh and smile like this?

The past always caught up with a person. There was no escaping it. How long could my peaceful days continue?

Because not only had I not been paying attention to my friends, I also had not been paying attention to the Noahs.

"You shouldn't blurt random things like that," Lenalee sighed. "It makes everyone else confused."

"Sorry. I'll make sure to pay attention to what I'm saying from now on." I said, smiling. Then I paused, thinking back on what I had just said. "That makes it sound like I'm dumb or something…" I pouted.

"Allen, get a hold over yourself." Fou snapped suddenly, walking towards us. I winced, though I was thankful that her hair hadn't changed as drastically as Lenalee's. It had just gotten a trim.

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, heaving a sigh and looking down at the floor.

"Anyways, let's go." Fou sighed, pointing to the door behind her. "We're all done, and we have a lot more stuff to do, so let's go."

Honestly, I agreed with her. I didn't really want to be in here anymore, surrounded by people who were listening in on conversations that I would rather no one heard.

As Lenalee paid for the haircuts, Fou and I headed for the car. Fou had told Lenalee she would pay for her part when she had cash on her, since she only had her debit card at the moment. Lenalee tried to tell Fou not to worry about it, but of course Fou insisted. She was too full of pride to let anyone treat her.

"Allen." She said my name just as we reached the car. I nearly jumped when I heard her, and I turned. She was staring at me with a look I didn't particularly like.

"Y-yes?" I asked, swallowing.

"Lenalee…" she glanced at the hair salon before sighing. "Was confessed to by Kanda."

For a moment, I was wondering if maybe she was joking. However, the look on her face was completely serious. There was no hint of a joke in her eyes or her expression. "Wh…what?"

"You heard me, shortie." Fou sighed. Her eyes strayed to the ground, glaring at nothing. "She told me the other day, while you were with Lavi, during lunch."

It felt like a hole was being made in my stomach. _It's the perfect example…_

"Has she…done anything?" I whispered.

_Of what I'm missing._

"No." Fou whispered. "That's why I'm here. She's scared. She doesn't know what to do about it. And since she helped me…"

"You're returning the favor." I finished. "So that's why you're letting her do what she wants."

"I don't know any other way to comfort her. She set a date for when she would tell him her answer, and even made lines, but she's so nervous that she's starting to become a little delirious. You noticed it, didn't you?" Fou nodded towards me, but refused to look up. She seemed extremely upset over this.

I thought about our day. Lenalee had decided to go for a hair cut and get her nails done on a rainy, miserable day. She had gladly come to get me so she could subject me to this as well. She had completely cut off her hair. Her responses and actions were all much more cheerful and perky than they should have been.

"She's really torn by this, huh?" I asked, sitting on the hood of the car.

"Well, for one thing, _Kanda_ confessed to her. For another, how would you feel if one of your closest friends suddenly confessed their love to you, knowing how hard it must have been for them yet not knowing if you could return those feelings?" Fou asked, and then gave me a very pointed look. I gave another nervous laugh.

Fou and I hadn't really talked until today, which meant neither of us had talked about her feelings. It was something that I would have preferred keeping off until the day I died, and afterwards.

"Well, in the end I guess she just needs to sort out her own feelings and ignore Kanda's feelings for now?" I questioned more than stated. After all, I wasn't really sure what I was saying. "That way…she can figure out her answer…and then…" I swallowed, definitely not liking the look Fou was now giving me.

"You really don't know how to deal with things like these, do you?" She muttered, passing me and getting into the car. "You're such an idiot…but I guess that's a bit of a relief…"

"Huh?" I asked, blinking.

"I feel kind of sorry for Lavi, having to deal with a puppy like you." Fou pointed out, looking up at me with a smile.

I looked at my backside, imagining a tail wagging there, and pouted.

"I'm not like a dog!" I protested.

"Yeah, you are." She sighed. "You're so unbelievably loyal that it's stupid, and right now your owner is Lavi. Anyone who tries to take you away gets a bite in the ass, either from the dog or from the owner himself."

"Shut up! I'm not a dog, and Lavi doesn't own me!" I snapped, glaring her down, growling. She laughed.

"Then why are you growling?" She asked, and I blushed, stopping. Pouting, I got into the backseat, a little annoyed with how wet it was.

_Anyone who tries to take you away gets a bite in the ass, either from the dog or the owner himself…_

_The owner himself…_

What did she mean by that?

Lenalee came out of the salon then, rushing towards us.

"Everyone ready for a manicure?" She chimed, getting into the passenger seat with more enthusiasm than necessary.

"Really…?" I sighed, resting my head on the seat in front of me, Fou's. "We really have to go there next?"

"Of course! Nothing better than having your nails pampered!" Lenalee said happily, and I grunted.

_**Not…really…**_

("…")

Ten o'clock.

Why the hell did Kanda want to see me?!

He was making me nervous, saying things like that.

After talking to Fou, I was getting more and more ridiculous ideas of what he could possibly want from me, and none of them were good.

The best I could come up with was that he would just ask me if Lenalee said anything about him. The worst I could come up with was him ending up crying and confessing everything to me, saying I was the only one he could trust now that Lavi was so occupied by other things.

_Of course, he wont actually do that, this is _Kanda_ we're talking about. But it's still a worrisome thought._

I sighed, checking my cell phone again.

10:13

He was late, and unless I went back soon Lenalee and Fou would begin to get suspicious. I had told them I just needed a bit of fresh air (which they couldn't really blame me for, after everything they'd put me through today), but anything over twenty minutes was just dangerous.

"Keh. You actually came."

I jumped, dropping my cell phone. Quickly, I picked it back up, looking over at Kanda, who was now sliding closed his sliding glass door. I was still wondering if it was really appropriate of me to have ended up sneaking into his back yard and just casually sitting on his back porch, but he wasn't freaking out at me, so I took that as a good sign.

"Yes, I came, so can we get this over with quickly? They're going to start getting suspicious." I snapped, slipping my phone into my pocket and standing up. It would be better if I was standing; that way, I could actually evade any sort of kick he tried to aim at me.

"Tch. Who the hell do you think you are, demanding things from me?" Kanda snapped, his face turning into a scowl, and I swallowed a lump of fear. However, surprisingly, the scowl disappeared, replaced by a nervous expression, a tinge of red appearing on his cheeks. "I didn't….mean that…" he strained out, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Kanda, you look like you're about to get a hemorrhoid." I stated bluntly. His face turned more red, and he clenched his fist, obviously about to try and hit me. Immediately, I bent my knees, ready to go the opposite way his fist went. Again, he stopped.

"Just shut up and help me." He snapped, both fists clenched now. He avoided my gaze, looking anywhere but at me.

"Help?" I asked, standing up straight again. That was the one I hadn't really been expecting.

"Getting…Lenalee…" he muttered, his face beginning to turn redder. "I can't do it alone…and that stupid rabbit is out of the question…"

"So you're coming to me?" I asked, incredulous. "The bean sprout?"

"Shut up!" Kanda snapped. "Are you going to help me or not?"

On the plus side, this might actually get Kanda to stop being so cruel towards me. Maybe he would actually feel indebted. Then again, even the thought of Kanda actually feeling indebted towards someone made me want to laugh; it seemed pretty much impossible. On the minus side, I would have to help _Kanda_. I would have to be on his side, compared to Lenalee's, who I would much rather support.

What would this do to Lenalee?

"Have you even thought about Lenalee's feelings?" I asked. "Would it be fair to have someone working against her trying to pressure her?"

"That's not what I meant!" Kanda snapped. "I just meant…help me…get closer to her…"

"So you mean like suggesting to go to the movies in a big group and then 'accidentally' getting you next to her?" I asked, thinking of the many scenarios I had seen in movies that were exactly like what Kanda was asking.

"Yeah…something like that…" Kanda muttered, sitting down on the large bench swing that sat on his porch. He sighed, running a hand over his face. "I just…want to be near her, to try and show her…"

"How nice you can be?" I asked, once again incredulous. "I don't know, Kanda. That might be near impossible."

"Stop insulting me, bean sprout, before I kick your ass!" Kanda snapped, about to stand up. I raised my hands in defense.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I said quietly. I sighed. "Look, I'll do what I can, but if I'm going to do this for you, you have to loosen up a bit on me. I can feel myself getting older every time you glare at me."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Kanda asked, looking utterly confused.

"Just an expression." I muttered.

"So you'll help me?" he demanded, finally meeting my eyes. The glare that was there sent a shiver down my spine, and I nodded. I didn't speak, afraid my voice would betray the calm expression I was still wearing. Why did Kanda have to be so scary? "Good. It's settled then. I'll call you when I need you. What's your cell phone number?"

"Seriously? You're seriously going to be like that?" I asked, resisting the urge to laugh. "This is exactly like some bad spy teenager movie…"

"Shut the hell up before I shut you up for you." Kanda snapped, pulling out a tiny little cell phone. I was pretty sure it was one of those Blackberries.

"I think I might regret this…" I sighed.

("…")

"Allen! You're back!" Lenalee smiled at me as I entered her room, which was so unbelievably bright I had to wonder if Komui came in here day after day making sure it stayed that way.

"Yeah, I feel a little better now." I sighed, sitting down on a plush orange, circular chair. Fou was on Lenalee's bed, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a black men's t-shirt, reading through a comic book. Lenalee was cross legged on her floor with a bunch of girly items surrounding her that I didn't know the names of.

"What'd you do, go all the way around town?" Fou asked. "Maybe pace outside Lavi's house for a bit?"

"W-what?" I stuttered, looking at the pink haired girl in disbelief.

"You were gone for a pretty long time," Lenalee pouted curiously, glancing at me. "What _did_ you do?"

"I just…went for a walk around the block." I lied, scratching the back of my head.

"Kind of weird that you chose to leave at _exactly_ ten o'clock, too." Fou muttered, putting her comic book on her face so that it was no longer visible. She sighed and it fluttered a bit before flopping back down.

"Was it? I wasn't paying attention to the time." I said as lightly as possible, trying to hide the panicked feeling that was steadily creeping up on me.

"Sure you weren't. That's why you were checking your cell phone every couple of seconds after it turned nine thirty." Fou said, her voice muffled.

"I was just…" I swallowed, unsure how I would explain this.

"You were waiting for a phone call from Lavi, weren't you?" Lenalee chided, looking at me accusingly. I blushed, but at the same time relief filled me. Reigning in the small smile that was trying to escape, I put on an embarrassed face, which wasn't too hard, since the mere idea of waiting for Lavi's call was embarrassing in itself.

"Yes…" I muttered shyly, looking down. Good actor or not, my eyes could easily betray me.

"Well, did he call?" Lenalee pressed, and I shook my head no. Two disappointed sighs followed, and I looked up to see that Fou had removed her comic book.

"What a jack ass, saying he'll call at a certain time and then completely laying you off." Fou sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe he just forgot." Lenalee suggested, though she sounded a little doubtful.

"No…" I whispered, looking away from Fou, avoiding both of their gazes as my head dropped down again. My voice suddenly felt hoarse, and I could feel my stomach squeeze as I spoke. "I don't think Lavi will be calling me any time soon. I don't think he'll be talking to me for a while."

"What happened to you two?" Lenalee demanded, suddenly sounding angry. I didn't look up, though.

"I lied to him." I whispered.

In a way, this was true. In a way, I had lied to Lavi, the person that had become someone so close to me, the person that I would most likely do anything for. I had been dishonest, and I had been hiding things from him that I shouldn't have.

"_Lavi doesn't like secrets."_

Was that really the only reason that he would refuse to speak to me? Was it possible that if I had just shown him right from the start, he would have accepted me regardless?

There were so many things that were a mystery when it came to that redheaded boy, but for some reason I was the only one who was trying to solve those mysteries, I was the only one left confused and dwelling on everything he did. Everyone else was able to flow with it, accept it, understand it. I was left completely in the dark.

They all knew something I didn't. something was missing, a puzzle piece that could most likely fill in every single blank left in Lavi's past and behavior.

Somewhere in the time between when he was a baby and teenager, something had happened. That was where the puzzle piece was missing.

I didn't pay attention to Lenalee and Fou as they started discussing something, something I couldn't quite understand. Their words became jumbled, and I couldn't even understand the words coming out of their mouths let alone their meanings. My pulse beat loudly in my ears, my stomach squirming uncomfortably.

The only thing I noticed was my cell phone, when it vibrated at exactly 11:30.

_Movies tomorrow. 7:00. Bringing everyone._

("…")

Finding a way to make the pitch to Lenalee was the hardest part about Kanda's new request.

Mostly my head was rushing all day because of two words: bringing everyone. By everyone, who did he mean?

It distracted me when we were eating one of Komui's extravagant breakfasts, to the point where I had devoured three platefuls of food before I realized how much I had eaten and the odd looks I had received from everyone in the house. It had distracted me when we were watching TV, to the point where I was staring blankly at the commercials while Lenalee and Fou tried to get my attention to talk to me.

I finally found a time where I was still relatively aware, but it wasn't necessarily the best time possible. Lenalee was getting changed in her room with Fou, and I was sitting against the door, listening to them talking about random things. I didn't understand how girls talked about things so unbelievably unimportant.

"Hey, Lenalee?" I called, and they paused in their talking. I took the silence as a hint to go on. "You wanna go to the movies tonight?"

"The movies? Why?" Lenalee asked, curious.

"Well, I got a text from…uh…Daisya, saying that Lavi wanted to go…" I think it was the worst lie I had ever told, but I had a feeling if I said Kanda's name then Lenalee would understand what was going on.

"Really? Huh. We didn't get a…" suddenly, the sound of vibrating reached my ears, followed by shuffling. A couple of seconds later and both girls were laughing.

"What?" I asked, curious.

"Lavi just sent us a text," Lenalee explained. "Just thought it was funny that you asked at the same time."

"Oh…" I muttered, blushing a little.

"Well, you want to stay at my house until the movies then?" Lenalee asked, and I looked down at myself. From lack of a change of clothing, I had slept in these clothes, and I kind of felt like changing. Having a shower in my own home would be nice, too, and I had a feeling that I would also be coming home to a very, _very_ angry and hungry man when I walked through that door.

"I think I need to go home…" I laughed nervously, and only silence followed. I think they understood.

("…")

"Seven…" I whispered, glancing at the stove clock. Six thirty.

Lenalee said she would pick me up at quarter to.

"Stop glancing at that stove, idiot boy. You're making me nervous." Master snapped, a bottle of wine in his hands. I glared sharply at him before returning to staring at the clock.

Why was I so unbelievably nervous?

"You better be home before midnight, sprout." Master continued, sitting up in his chair to glare pointedly at me. "You have school tomorrow, and if you start losing your grades then you're the one who's going to have to start paying for things around here."

His slurred words confused me at first, before I remembered our deal.

I keep getting perfect grades, he keeps paying for everything.

That was the reason I wasn't held back by a job, paying for Master's expenses. Instead, he was the one paying for everything, although I wasn't so sure he even had a job. How he was keeping a roof over our heads was a complete mystery to me.

"I know that, Master, and please don't call me that." I sighed.

"What, _sprout_?" Master emphasized the word, most likely just to piss me off. It almost worked. "Is it because it was that rabbit who started it?"

I froze, turning to look at Master in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Hah. Don't act all innocent. It's disgusting, but I'll let it pass. Just don't do anything freaky in front of me or give me a bad reputation for raising a gay kid." Master said, standing up. The chair screeched across the floor, almost as if finalizing things, but I wouldn't let this be finished.

I could feel how red my face was right then, but I wouldn't just let this go. "What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Tch. Good luck at the movies tonight, kid. Don't expect me to help you out with anything. I won't be home when you get back either, so feel free to bring in whoever you want. Just make sure you get to school." Master left the room, leaving me stuttering and red in the face, wondering what had just happened.

("…")

When Lenalee knocked on the door, I had been half way through checking myself over in the mirror for the twentieth time.

For some reason, what Master had said had made me extremely conscious of what I looked like.

I rushed to the door, biting my lip, wondering who else would be standing there with Lenalee, wondering who would be in the car that would be purring behind her, most likely driven by either Lavi, Fou or Kanda.

_Lavi._

I opened the door, my hand shaking a little. I stared at it, trying to will it to stop, but it wouldn't. The door swung open of its own accord, and Lenalee stood there, smiling brightly.

"Hey, Lenalee." I said with a nervous smile, and glanced behind her. Lavi's jeep was there, headlights on. Directly behind it was Kanda's red sports car.

"You ready to go?" She asked, noticing the way I had glanced at the cars. "You're going to be riding with me in Lavi's jeep. He said it was okay, so…" She seemed to be hesitating, as if unsure. I looked at her, and gave her the most reassuring smile I could at the moment.

"It's okay," I said. "Everyone else needed to fit in Kanda's car, right?"

Lenalee suddenly blushed a little. "Yeah…Fou and Daisya are in there with Marie…"

I just nodded, stepping out and closing the door behind me. "Well, let's go then. Don't want to keep everyone waiting." Was my voice breaking?

"Are you sure you're okay? Fou could probably switch with you…" Lenalee suggested, giving me a slightly nervous look. It looked like she was starting to feel nervous for me, too.

"It's okay, really." I gave her a tight smile, quickly getting down the steps and speed walking to Lavi's jeep. I stopped half way, looking back at Lenalee, who was following after me with a slightly amused look. "Uh…you get front seat." I laughed.

"Sure thing," she smiled and went ahead of me. I followed after her, my heart racing.

Lenalee got in, saying something to Lavi, and I opened the back door. I glanced at Lavi, but he had his back to me. I frowned.

When I was securely in my seat, Lavi pulled away from the curb, and I looked back to see Kanda doing the same thing. As the car rolled along, heading towards our destination according to Lavi's control, I was left in an awkward silence. Lenalee occasionally tried to start a conversation, but Lavi only answered with grunts or a single word.

I shrunk into my seat, trying to be invisible, not wanting to meet his angry gaze. Surely he was still angry?

When we pulled up to our mediocre movie theatre, I was the first one to get out of the car. My pulse was still racing, and when the fresh air hit me it felt like I had been dunked in the ocean. It was refreshing. I took a few deep breaths, clenching and unclenching my fists, trying to settle my pulse down enough to be able to stop getting a head rush.

Lenalee touched my shoulder lightly before heading towards Kanda's car, where Fou and Daisya were getting out of the back seat and Marie was getting out of the front seat. I frowned when I saw him. Should he really be coming, when he couldn't actually see the screen? Wasn't that a bit… cruel?

Lavi appeared beside me, not looking at me, just standing there. I could feel the waves of anger coming from him, and I swallowed, trying my hardest not to look at him. He didn't say anything, and I didn't bother looking at him to see if he was trying to or if he was just trying to make me feel more guilty than I already did.

When he suddenly turned away, I realized that the others had long gone into the movie theatre. How long had we been standing there? I looked over to where Lavi was walking away, and I frowned.

Would I only ever see his back now? Would he always be ahead of me?

I trailed after him, looking at the ground, not wanting to raise my head.

I didn't even realize that I had passed the paying booth until I had entered the movie theatre, Lenalee standing there waiting for me with a ticket in hand. She gave me a small smile before handing it to me, grabbing the hand that wasn't holding the ticket and leading me into the theatre.

Lenalee's hand was comforting, but it wasn't the hand that I wanted to hold, it wasn't the hand that I wanted to comfort me.

The theatre was relatively full, considering this movie had already been out for a few days. Lenalee walked to the middle before stopping, where everyone else was standing and waiting. Kanda gestured to the end seats, where only five seats were avaliable. Two people would have to find different seats together.

Finding a way to get Kanda to sit next to Lenalee was a major pain. I kept on trying to get in the way of Lenalee whenever she went to try and sit down, but then Fou would some how intercept me and try and pull her to a seat besides here, saying that they could find two seats and all the guys could sit together, but then I insisted that I wanted to go to a seperate seat, in which Lenalee insisted she join me, but then I would insist that she should just sit down.

Finally, Fou got fed up and slipped in next to Daisya, who had already sat down, Marie before him. Now, only two seats remained, and if things were going to work...

I jumped, trying to get into the second to last seat, but suddenly my collar was grabbed.

"I'll sit with Allen," Lavi said, releasing my collar as I rubbed my throat, gasping.

Everyone looked at me before looking at Lavi. I met Lenalee's eyes and she gave me a concerned look, before giving Lavi a confused one. Everyone looked confused.

Apparently, the fact that Lavi was mad at me was well known.

"Tch. Whatever." Kanda didn't hesitate to sit down next to Fou, a scowl on his face, acting as if everything were normal. Maybe I was the only one who saw the slight twitch to his lips.

Lenalee hesitated before sitting down next to him, her cheeks suddenly going a little red.

I gave them both a quirky little smile before turning and scanning my eyes over the theatre. I didn't have to look too far. Two free seats were exactly two rows up, on the end.

I didn't look at Lavi as I stepped past him, taking my seat on the very end. I didn't want to be trapped in by Lavi; something told me I would be needing the outside seat. I didn't do too well in dark places next to a person I liked. Most lkely I'd start hyperventilating again.

Lavi didn't question me, though I didn't think he'd be saying anything to me anyways, and slipped past me. He sat down without a word, and stared at the screen, which was playing a commercial for some car.

"Do you two want anything?" I jumped, looking to the side, where Lenalee was standing nervously. "Since I was on the end of the row, I was assigned 'Goodies Duties', as Fou likes to call it."

"Yeah...some popcorn..." I trailed, digging into my pocket for some change.

"Popcorn?" Lenalee repeated, and then looked at Lavi.

"I'll just steal from Allen's. Make it a large." He said, his voice not as teasing as it should have been.

I was about to turn and glare at him and ask why he would assume he could just eat my popcorn, but I stopped, biting my lip.

Did I really have any right to object to anything he wanted right now?

"Okay, large popcorn." Lenalee nodded before turning and walking off. I stopped digging into my pocket, staring after her curiously.

"I didn't even get to give her the money..." I thought aloud.

"She'll pay for it." Lavi said, though he didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

I sat there in silence, my lips pursed. Lavi said nothing, but even though I wasn't looking at him I could feel him there. It was like something was pushing against the whole side of my body that was next to him. I kept my hands tightly clenched together on my lap, even though in movie theatres I usually took advantage of arm rests.

Would he ever look at me with that teasing grin again? Would he ever confide in me again? Would he ever look me in the eyes and call me his friend again?

"Allen, stop daydreaming." For the second time I jumped, looking over. Lenalee was back, holding three large things of popcorn with random candy bars and packages sticking out of two of them. She had a tray full of five drinks that she was barely balancing.

"Oh wow, let me help you with that!" I stood up, taking away my popcorn (the one without any candy) and putting it on my seat before grabbing the drinks.

"That's really not necessary..." Lenalee trailed, though she seemed grateful. I walked with her to her row, where I handed Kanda the drinks. He gave them an agitated look before randomly handing the drinks away. I wanted to smack him for not bothering to try and give them to the right people.

"Enjoy the movie," I muttered to Lenalee before turning to go back up the aisle.

"You, too." Lenalee called after me, and I waved behind me.

I stopped next to my chair and looked down at Lavi. He had the popcorn, already indulging himself, staring absently at the screen. He glanced up at me, gave me a weird look, and then continued to eat his popcorn.

Correction, _my_ popcorn.

I sighed, sitting down next to him and staring at the screen, which was playing one of those movie quizzes that I never got right.

I imagined what it would be like if Lavi were still...happy with me.

Most likely, he would try and do something like chuck popcorn at me, and then answer the movie quizzes perfectly, asking me random questions and teasing me for an answer that I would end up getting embarrassed about. He would prove me wrong in something that I would ask as a retort, and then I would sit there in silent awe while he continued to chew on his popcorn while staring at the screen as if it were some kind of miracle.

Instead, he sat there with a blank look on his face, chewing his popcorn in a normal, unfun way. Angry. With me.

I opened my mouth, ignoring the sudden surge in my stomach, but the lights dimmed at that precise moment. Lavi stared at the screen with more intensity, and I quickly turned away, paying attention to the screen as it played a little speel that was always played before previews.

I wasn't sure if I was more relieved or agitated.

I hardly paid any attention to the moving pictures in front of me, more frustrated with myself than anything. I knew that once the previews started, I would most likely only make Lavi more angy with me by talking to him. When we had been watching movies at his house, he had nearly bitten my head off for saying something.

The pictures became hardly noticable. Soon, absent minded turned into an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. My fingers were shaking, and it felt like I was about to let up my dinner.

I wasn't sure how far into the movie we had gotten, or if the movie had even started, but I stood up and all but ran out of the theatre.

I understood that this wasn't just nervousness from being next to Lavi. Something was wrong. My head was spinning and I felt like I was floating, and even though it felt like cold beads of sweat were rolling down my body, there was nothng there.

Cold shivers ran up and down my body even though I knew that it was boiling hot in the theatre. I felt like taking a jacket and huddling in a corner, but at the same time the mere thought of adding on more clothing when it was already this hot made me feel sticky and tired.

I stumbled into the lobby and nodded to someone behind the counter, not really paying attention to the face, before making my way to the washroom.

Apparently, I had been correct in assuming that I wasn't just a nervous, lovesick boy.

When I flushed down the contents of my stomach, watching the yellowy liquid acid as it swirled around and around, I ran a hand over my forehead. This time, when I looked down at my glove, there really was sweat.

I sat down, nestling myself in the left corner of the door side, putting my head back and closing my eyes.

I was starting to wonder if coming was such a good idea.

"Allen?"

I froze, my heart skipping a beat, my muscles tensing.

"Allen, I know you're there. I can see your ass and your feet."

Was this really happening?

"Come on, if you're sitting there I can't open the door or slip under."

"Lavi...?" I whispered, already regretting saying the name. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't.

"Yeah."

But...it was...

"What are you...?" I whispered, my voice hoarse from the gagging.

"I noticed you were looking a little pale when you got into the car." Lavi muttered, his voice suddenly much closer. Was he sitting on the other side?

I glanced down and saw his feet and bottom, and realized he was probably sitting in the same position as me; knees tucked into the chest. I could imagine him there, his head resting gently against the stall door, his red hair falling gently over his pale face as he smiled gently, a faraway look in his eye...

"Lavi..." I choked out, suddenly filled with happiness.

"Don't go getting all emotional just because I noticed you looked like shit," Lavi said, though he sounded amused.

"Well, at least you actually notice me," I whispered.

There was a long pause, and then a small, cold laugh. "What's that supposed to mean?" Lavi whispered. Why did he sound so pained?

"No one notices me..." I whispered. "No one cares..."

"Allen, do you know how selfish you are?" Lavi asked, suddenly sounding angry again. I paused, frowning in confusion, and before I could ask what he meant he let out a long, exasperated sigh. "No, I guess not. No one realizes how selfish they really are."

"What are you...?" I trailed off, trying not to sound too offended. I didn't want Lavi to leave, I didn't want him to be angry with anymore, and it would be really nice to have someone there if I ended up passing out randomly, which I was beginning to feel I would.

"_You_ don't notice you. You don't realize how much people are attracted to you, or how everyone notices when you're upset or angry or happy or pissed off or not there. Always, everyone is aware of you and wants you to be around. Even _Yuu_ notices." Lavi said, his voice no longer a whisper. He sounded a little angry, but more...desperate.

"What do you mean? You're the only one..."

"_No_, I'm _not_." Lavi snapped, and the sound of flesh connecting with tile made me jump. Had he just hit the floor? "Everyone...everyone..."

His voice was strained, and he sounded like he was having a difficult time breathing. I was about to reach up and open the stall door, but his voice cut me off.

"Everyone loves you in their own way, Allen. Even the Noahs. Even the people you've never talked to. Random people in school who pass you will stare at you and whisper about you and start to look for you every day, praying for a chance to talk to you or be alone with you.

"But I'm the one..." His voice caught, and he stopped. I looked down and saw one of his fists clenching so tightly it looked like his nails were about to cut open his palm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About what?" I asked, though it should've been obvious. (Hey, I was sick. Give a guy a break.)

"Your arm...what happened...why...why...?" Lavi didn't finished the rest of his question, lapsing into a silence I was afraid to break.

But I needed to get this over with.

Why not in a bathroom stall, desperately trying to hold back puke, sitting on a cold tile floor?

"I was afraid." I whispered. When Lavi said nothing, I took that as a sign to go on. "I was afraid you would hate me for it...that you would push me away like everyone else who's seen...this thing...this...deformity..."

I couldn't say any more, praying that he could understand the rest on his own.

"Allen...you're the biggest idiot I know." Lavi whispered, laughing. It wasn't a laugh that came after a joke, nor a cold laugh that sent chills down a spine. It was a sad laugh, a hopeless laugh, a laugh I never wanted to hear come from his mouth again.

"That's not really the best reponse to someone admitting their feelings..." I muttered weakly, pressing my forehead to the cool door, a small smile appearing on my lips.

"No...I suppose not..." Lavi whispered. Right then, I think we looked the same, felt the same...

Well, maybe not entirely.

"Uh...Lavi..." I moaned, throwing a hand over my mouth. "I think you should cover your ears..."

"Oh shit, open the door Allen. I completely forgot..." Lavi trailed off and I listened as he stood up. I barely had the strength to open the lock before keeling over the toilet, barely making it in time.

This time, Lavi's hands were on my back. A couple of times I thought I heard him laughing, sometimes I thought I heard him making disgusted noises in the back of his throat or making comments on how gross this was, but not once did he make any implication that he'd rather be somewhere else...

When I finally had enough breath to talk without throwing up again, I looked at Lavi, trying to ignore the fact that I probably looked like crap at that moment.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"No problem. I'll drive you home." Lavi said, grinning down at me. It made me happy to see it was the old grin, the one that I had missed in the past two days...

Then I realized something.

Within a span of twenty four hours, if I didn't see Lavi, I became completely useless...

I was beginning to depend on him, even if it was just his company. I wasn't so sure that was a good thing.

"You know..." Lavi began as he helped me up. "You don't need to be afraid of me ever hating you. Even if you murdered someone simply for enjoyment, I'd most likely only be able to be disgusted for you for less than a day before I decided I couldn't be angry with you anymore."

"Is that why you really came after me?" I asked, grinning. "I'm too cute to resist?"

Lavi laughed, a forced laugh that even sounded a little nervous. "You're a little _too_ full of yourself, Allen..."

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah...nope." Lavi chuckled, shaking his head.

When we got outside, it was like I was ten times better. The fresh air was extremely refreshing, and I was quick to take as many gulps in as possible.

The cool air sent chills up my spine, but at least I was actually cold now instead of hot but cold.

Lavi led me to his jeep, helping me into the front seat. I buckled myself up as he went around the front of the car, and when he was inside and buckled up he turned on the jeep, turning the heat on. When he did, I gave him a disapproving look, but he just gave me a pointed look.

"It's freezing. Even if you don't need heat, I do. Otherwise I'm going to freeze my ass off." He said, and then rolled his eyes.

I just pouted, resting my head against the window. At least that would hopefully stay cool.

Lavi drove me to my house, and when I saw that all the lights were off I knew that Master had already left. I turned to look at Lavi, ready to say thank you and goodbye, but was surprised to see that he was unbuckling and getting out of the jeep.

"What're you doing?" I asked when he appeared at my door, opening it for me. I had been too busy watching him to have remembered to unbuckle and get out myself.

"Well, Cross isn't home is he?" Lavi asked, looking back at the house. "He leaves every single light on when he is, so if there's none on then that most likely means he's not there."

"That still doesn't explain..."

"I'm not going to just drop you off when you're running a fever and throwing up everywhere. If this gets worse there won't be anyone to take care of you." Lavi chided, and put his hands on his hips. "Now, will you please get out?"

"Huh? Oh...right..." I looked down at myself and blushed before releasing myself.

Lavi pretty much carried me to the door, my feet dragging as I wrapped both arms around his neck, relishing in secret pleasure while also grateful for the support, since I knew I would've fallen flat on my face otherwise.

He opened the door with the hand that wasn't under my armpit, and I was surprised when it easily swung open. Lavi lead me to the kitchen, turning on lights as he went, and I was even more surprised when I saw that there was a note sitting on the island.

"First Aid's in the laundry room above the washer...huh, usually it's in the bathroom..." Lavi muttered as he picked the note up. "Well, the stuff we actually need _is_ in the washroom, so I'll run up there. You just sit here until we've got some medicine in you."

"Why is there a note there...?" I asked, frowning.

"Oh yeah, there was one other reason I knew Cross wasn't home. I gave him a call on his cell phone to let him know you were puking your brains out in the washroom as I spoke." Lavi said cheerily, then left the kitchen. I frowned as I watched him go.

He had even gone through the trouble of calling Master before even telling me that he would drive me home? Had he already been planning on forgiving me? Was that why he had sat next to me in the movies? Was that why he had awkwardly stood next to me when we had arrived at the theatre?

When Lavi reappeared, I was going to ask him, but when I saw what he was carrying I was immediately distracted.

"Lavi...I'm not drinking that..."

"Oh, come on! It's robitussin, it works for everything." Lavi grinned as if that solved everything, and I made a face.

"Lavi, that's for coughs and colds, not throwing up and fevers..." I pointed out. Lavi frowned.

"Fine, but I still want you to have some." he declared, already searching for the teaspoons.

"Why?" I demanded, but he shushed me. He had finally found the teaspoons, and he wasted no time in measuring out the amount that a person would have to take at my age for a cold.

He held the spoon out to me, but I shook my head, pursing my lips. He frowned.

"Allen, being stubborn is only going to make things worse." Lavi said, glaring at me now. "Don't make me resort to methods that I shouldn't have to use on a grown boy."

"A grown...boy...?" I repeated, sighing in my head.

Before I could decline his 'offer' again, he reached out and plugged my nose. Surprised, I opened my mouth, not at all expecting the spoon that flew in right afterwards.

Lavi didn't let go of my nose until he was sure I had swallowed all of the sticky, disgusting liquid.

"Geh!" I gasped as soon as he let go. "That...was...disgusting..."

"And...that's the reason I wanted you to drink it, right there." Lavi said, a clicking sound following. I looked up at him, surprised to see that he had his cell phone out.

"Did you just...take a picture of me?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yup, and it's a keeper!" Lavi grinned. "Your face is priceless here."

"You made me drink that crap..." I ground out, "Jut so you could get a picture of what my face looked like afterwards?"

"Uh huh." Lavi looked at me as if nothing was wrong with this statement. If it weren't for the sudden lurch of my stomach, I probably would've gotten up and strangled him.

I leaned over, resting my forehead on the table, taking a few deep breaths to help calm down my body. "Lavi..." I whispered.

"Right...sick person..." He muttered, before the sound of shuffling around was heard.

I kept my head down, closing my eyes and counting my breaths, trying to think of things that would keep my mind off of the sick feeling in my stomach.

And then I remembered something.

"Oh shit, Kanda!" I cursed, sitting up abruptly. I very nearly fell out of my seat from the sudden head rush.

"Whoa, whoa. Settle down, Allen. If you make too sudden of movements you're going to hurl all over the floor." Lavi's hands were on my shoulders pushing me down in an instant. I didn't bother asking him about his incredible speed, considering how small the kitchen was. "I'm sure whatever love plans you made with Yuu can be postponed."

I was about to say they weren't love plans, but then again, in a way, they were. Just not in the way that Lavi was thinking.

"I need to text him..." I muttered, grabbing my cell phone out of my pocket. "I need to know how things went..."

"How what things went?" Now Lavi sounded suspicious. His hands left my shoulders, and for a moment I was distracted by the sudden sense of loss I felt before remembering the cell phone in my hands.

"Nothing," I muttered absently as my thumbs worked furiously. A few moments later and I had sent Kanda a text asking how things were going.

"Are you two plotting something?" Lavi asked, no longer rushing about the kitchen.

"Really, it's nothing," I insisted, giving Lavi a small, innocent smile. Lavi frowned before shrugging, going back to work.

As he hustled about, I began to discard of clothes. No matter how cold Lavi said it was, I was dying of heat.

As I continued to discard of clothes, I completely forgot about restrictions or decency. I took off my sweater, then my shirt, then my gloves, until I was completely bare except for my lower half.

Lavi set down a cup of steaming lemon tea before me, and when I looked up to thank him, I noticed his eyes on my arm.

I glanced at it, wincing, before looking down at the table.

"Do you...?" I began, just barely above a whisper. I didn't want to finish the question, afraid of the answer I would get.

"Hate you? No. Feel disgusted? Not really." Lavi said, but I shook my head to both of them. There was a soft sigh, and he sat down in the chair next to mine. "Do I want to know how it happened?" He whispered. When no repsonse came, he let out another sigh. "Yes and no."

"It can only be one or the other." I muttered.

"Do I want to know?" Lavi asked instead.

"...I don't know."

"That wasn't exactly the best answer." Lavi commented absently. I just glared at the table. "Look, I'll leave it at this: when you think you're ready to tell me, tell me. If you're never ready to tell me, then I guess I'll never know."

"You're really just going to leave it at that?" I asked, frowning.

"Have I ever been like a normal person?" Lavi replied, and I smiled.

"No, but that's what I..." I stopped myself, blushing.

"What you what?" Lavi asked, curious again. I just shook my head.

"Nothing. You don't need to know anything," I muttered.

"You know...I think that robitussin is really getting to your head." Lavi commented.

"And who's fault is that?" I asked.

"Not mine," Lavi said, whistling afterwards. I just laughed, taking a sip of my tea.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, while I sipped at my tea, waiting until it was cooler before I chugged it all. Lavi was picking at his nails when a question occurred to me.

"Are you going back home tonight?" I asked.

"Nope." Was all he said.

"Then...where are you going to sleep? The couch?" I asked.

"Nope. In your bed." Lavi replied, grinning. "How else am I supposed to keep a constant check on your temperature?"

I would've blushed, but my face was already so flushed from the fever that it wasn't noticable.

"So you're just going to invite yourself into my bed?" I asked, trying to be light about this. "Aren't we supposed to kiss first before we do something like that?"

"Well sure, if you want to, but I'd probably get sick."

I spluttered, spitting out the tea that had just gone in my mouth.

"Say what?" I gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. He was watching me, completely serious.

"You heard me." He said.

"I...did...?" I questioned.

Lavi didn't bother saying anything else, leaning forward, his gaze intense.

Was this really happening? Was I just being delusional because I was sick?

I leaned forward, the only thing sensible going through my mind being 'take it while you got it'.

And then the buzzing in my pokcet brought me back to reality.

Reality was, I was sick, sitting in a kitchen, Lavi leaning towards me, just saying he'd kiss me, completely serious about it, and I had no idea why.

And, the only person who would text me would be Kanda.

I reached into my pocket and pulled my cell phone out, completely breaking the spell.

The movie just finished. I'm dropping everyone off because the idiot rabbit dissappeared with you. When I drop Daisya off it'll just be me and Lenalee. Txt later.

I rolled my eyes. Could he be any more vague?

I was quick to text back, and then looked up. Lavi was watching me, a frown on his face.

"What?" I asked. "It was Kanda."

"You really are weird when you're sick." Lavi sighed. "And here I thought..."

He didn't finish, but I didn't bother asking. I wasn't even sure if I was really hearing him right.

"Well, come on. I can see your eyes beginning to droop. Let's get to bed."

_Let's_ get to bed...

I liked the sound of that...

I let him drag me up, purposefully putting all of my weight onto him. He grunted before giving me a glare and then roughly dragged me to the stairs, sparing me no mercy in running me into walls and other random items.

When we got to the stairs, I let go of him. When he gave me a wary glance I just gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. It took him a moment, but he let me go.

I crawled up the stairs, which was much safer than say actually trying to walk up them, and then came to a stop at the top. I looked expectantly at Lavi.

"You're like a dog..." Lavi muttered, picking me up again.

"_I feel kind of sorry for Lavi, having to deal with a puppy like you." _

_"I'm not like a dog!"_

_"Yeah, you are. You're so unbelievably loyal it's stupid, and right now your owner is Lavi. Anyone who tries to take you away gets a bite in the ass, either from the dog or from the owner himself."_

"I'm not..." I muttered, frowning. What did Fou know? What did Lavi know?

The last thing I remembered of that night was Lavi tucking me in before slipping in right next to me, so close that his arm was touching mine, even though there was plently of space on my bed. For the second time since meeting Lavi, I didn't have a nightmare. I was beginning to wonder if it was really just coincidence.

("...")

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I noticed was I was half naked. The second thing I noticed was two bare arms wrapped around me. The third thing I noticed was the buzzing of my cell phone on my bedside table.

Lenalee accepted me. Thx.

End Chapter

A/N: I FINISHED! I told you, Voltairey! Are you happy, inu-chan?

Okay, so you all owe this chapter to my best friend, who if I hadn't of seen him today for the first time in two years I wouldn't of had the sudden inspiration to finish this.

Man, that was close...I almost went completely against my whole plan on this one. If I had of, this story's whole future could've changed...luckily I just made it simple.

Sorry it took so long, everyone. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner, since I actually have a bit more planned for that one...

Next chapter: the beginning of the Winter section.


	15. Winter Kisses Your Skin

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man

A/N: Who's a happy pappy? You're a happy pappy. That's right.

Chapter 15 - Winter Kisses Your Skin

_The wind chilled the child to the bone as he stared at the courtyard he had sat in so many years ago. This time, his saviour would not come. This time, his saviour was dead. There would be no Christmas present, no man to come and adopt him on this day. Instead he would watch as people walked together as families; families that he could never be a part of. _

_This was the first Christmas that the small boy had to face without Mana after he had adopted him. This was the first time he would not be able to have an anniversary with Mana of the day they had started being a father and son. This was the first day it had actually really hit him, that he would never see that face smile at him again._

_

* * *

_The smell of the fresh winter air sent a thrill through my body, and I could feel the energy running through my veins from the sharp awakening. Next to me, Lavi hummed quietly under his breath, in one of his rare times of quiet.

We had both been a little silent since he had woken up, once again in my house, although this time it had been on the couch. Although I liked having my bed to myself, it had still been a little disappointing knowing that he was in my house, not in the same room as me.

"How is it that I always end up taking care of you?" I asked, letting out a long breath. A stream of frosty air followed the sigh, catching my eye briefly as it wisped around like smoke before dissipating.

"So far it's two for two." Lavi replied pointedly, almost defensively, finally coming back to life.

"Please, enlighten me." I ignored each puff of frost that came with each word this time, turning my head to look at Lavi.

"Well, the first time was when you were at my house. I pretty much had to carry you to bed" - I flushed, looking away - "and the second time was a couple weeks ago, when you decided to get sick in the theatre and make it impossible to be angry with you anymore."

"I didn't count the first one." I muttered. "It's your own fault, and I'm sure if I tried I would have been able to make it on my own, in my _own_ room."

"Sure," was all Lavi said, going back into his silent world. I frowned. Usually if I brought up something to talk about, he would jump on the chance to talk. I was too nervous to ask what was wrong, though.

"Hey, you two!"

We both turned to find Lenalee running towards us, a bundled up Kanda right behind her. Confusion ran through me; neither of them lived in that direction. Then I noticed the still running, purring red sports car that could only be Kanda's.

"Hey," I said in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"We were actually coming to see you." Lenalee said, stopping in front of us. I admired her for having no need to pant. "We ran into Miranda and Krory while we were wandering around, and after talking for a bit, discovered they needed some help at the school. They were told to organize the staff party that's happening for Christmas, and they don't have any help."

"So you volunteered us?" I asked, sighing.

"Basically..." Lenalee laughed, smiling. "You don't mind, do you?"

I looked at Lavi, who didn't really seem like he was paying attention anyways, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. I have no obligations for the day. We were just taking a random walk."

"Awesome! Come on, then. They're starting already, I told them we'd be back really quick." Lenalee said, suddenly animated. She took us both by the wrists and dragged us to the fancy red sports car, Kanda trailing behind. Lavi finally seemed to snap out of it when he was physically touched, and started complaining loudly about being dragged around by girls.

"Why is it always me? Why can't they drag someone else around? I don't like having to carry stuff around for girls, it's annoying!" He whined, and Lenalee laughed.

"You know you love it, even if only for the rewards you get afterwards." She chimed, and I had a feeling she had just made a rather perverted joke.

"True enough, but still, I think girls need to calm down and stop treating men like dogs." Lavi said firmly, nodding his head. We reached the car and Lenalee released us. Slipping into the back, Lavi gave me a small wink, and I quickly followed after him with a confused frown.

Kanda got in and the engine purred to life moments later. I saw him briefly touch Lenalee's hand before he took off, and I smiled. I doubted he had been expecting anyone to see the brief show of affection, and although I would love to call him out on it, I would keep silent. Even if it was more for Lenalee's sake than his.

Kanda was quick to get us to the school, and once again I found myself grateful to get out of the car, resisting the urge to kiss the solid, unmoving ground. One of these days Kanda's driving was going to make something inside of me crack, and I would never be able to enter a car again.

"It's going to snow soon," Lenalee commented absently. As if Kanda's driving didn't freak her out at all. She was a brave soul.

"Well that's to be expected. I mean, it _is_ winter. I have no idea why you got your hair cut _now_ instead of summer time." Lavi commented, also unaffected. Towards him I just felt a bitter resentment at his ability to ignore anything relatively frightening.

"It was a spur of the moment thing," Lenalee muttered. She seemed upset with this comment. Apparently she didn't like her hair getting made fun of.

"Well, I'm not saying it doesn't look good," Lavi said defensively. "I just mean it would've been smarter to keep your longer hair when it would keep you warm."

"Well, thank you for your concern, Lavi," Lenalee said sarcastically. She looked at me then, and gave me a small smile. We had been walking this whole time, and we were now heading up the stairs that led to the front entrance of the school. I didn't particularly like being here during holidays.

It wasn't like I paid much attention or was bullied or anything. I just didn't like being here longer than necessary. The only reason I came here was to graduate and nothing else. I saw no point in surrounding myself with people that were just going to disappear from my life as soon as I graduated.

That's what it used to be like for me, until Lavi. Now I found myself immersed in friendships, every day actually _wanting_ something new to happen. However, most of it still happened _outside_ of school.

Lenalee led us to the staff room, where Miranda and Krory were already starting the decorations. They both turned when they heard us entering, and gave us large grins.

I had never been in the staff room before. It was sort of like the Club room, but less fancy, with only one couch against the wall and a long white table that currently held open boxes of decorations. Comfy looking office chairs surrounded the table, the kind that could roll across the floor and spin. There was a kitchen to my left, no dishes out in the open and a relatively large fridge. The walls were beige, with white trimmings. A fifty inch flat screen hung at the end of the table.

"Oh, thank you so much Lenalee! This really is a great help. I'm so sorry you-" but Lenalee hushed her before she could finish her sentence.

"Don't worry about it, really. It's our pleasure to help you." She said kindly. A small cough came from Lavi, but everyone ignored it. Well, everyone but me. I shot him a quick glare, and was surprised to see that he had caught it. He just gave me a little smirk, but it aggravated me somehow.

"Well, anyways, thank you." Miranda said again. "You actually came just on time. Could you and Kanda come with me to go get a few more boxes of decorations? They're all the way in the storage room."

"Of course! Come on, Kanda." Lenalee smiled, and grabbed Kanda's hand. Everyone stared in shock, even Kanda, but Lenalee went on as if she didn't notice. Dragging a shocked Kanda behind her, she disappeared from the room, Miranda following with a look of surprise on her face.

As soon as they were gone, Krory sighed. Taking a good look at him now, he seemed fidgety. He wrung his hands together, looked at us, and then looked away. I exchanged a glance with Lavi and knew he was thinking the same thing. Something was definitely up.

"Are you alright, Krory?" Lavi asked curiously, walking up to the man. Krory looked at him, his eyes wide.

"J-just fine," he insisted.

"Come on now, you're acting like you're about to ask someone to marry you." Very suddenly, Krory's face was filled with color. He stammered for a minute, and then quickly turned away and pretended to be busy trying to untangle a streamer.

For a second, my head felt very light. Had Lavi guessed right without even meaning to? Was Krory going to ask Miranda's hand in marriage? It would explain why he had waited until she was gone to show his nerves. It must be taking a lot of strength out of him to keep it together in front of her, so as soon as she was gone he probably took the chance to get a little relief.

Lavi blinked in surprise a few times, and then laughed aloud. I glared harshly at him, but his back was turned to me this time. "Krory, is that what's happening?" I asked.

Krory began to hum to himself as if he couldn't hear us. Lavi regained his composure and approached Krory eagerly. "Are you taking her to dinner?"

There was a second of hesitation before Krory sighed.

"Yes," he admitted. "There's no point in trying to keep it from you two. I basically gave it away anyways..."

"It's alright, man. Something tells me you haven't exactly told anyone else anyways, which doesn't help for nerves. If no one's comforted you yet, obviously you're going to be all upset like this." Lavi said, trying to be reassuring. I admit, he did have a way of making people feel better by using such a casual tone. It was like saying 'it's not that bad, just look on the bright side'.

"I just... don't know what she'll say. What if she thinks it's too soon?" Krory asked, looking at Lavi with genuine fear. "What if she doesn't actually love me?"

"That, sir, is where you have gone very wrong. If you go thinking she doesn't love you you'll never get the courage to ask her out. How long have you two been together now?" Lavi asked, wrapping an arm around Krory's shoulder.

"About... five years now..." Krory squeaked, seeming to only get more nervous with Lavi's little prediction. I felt like I should be saying something, but I found my mouth was sealed shut. I didn't even know what to say. I had no experience in this kind of thing at all. I didn't even watch romance movies.

"Then you have nothing to worry about! Don't you think she would have left your sorry ass already if she didn't love you? Okay, I didn't mean you were a sorry ass, I was just getting in the mood." Lavi quickly remedied his mistake, as Krory suddenly looked like he was about to burst out crying. "The point is, the odds are looking in your favour."

"Y...you think so?" Krory asked timidly. Lavi smiled and nodded encouragingly, and then looked to me. Krory did, too, and I found myself nodding absently, plastering on a fake smile. What was wrong with me?

"See? Allen thinks so too. So where are you taking her?" Lavi asked, suddenly excited. I was confused as I watched him, unsure if this was an act or genuine enthusiasm. It was difficult to tell, considering twenty minutes ago he seemed to be lifeless. Was I losing my ability to read him?

"To that fancy restaurant..." Krory couldn't remember the name, so Lavi started listing names off until he said the right one. Lavi started getting animated on how Krory could propose, and I found myself not listening anymore. I didn't want to hear it, frankly.

Miranda, Lenalee and Kanda came back a few moments later, Kanda carrying two boxes while Miranda and Lenalee carried only one. Lavi abruptly cut the conversation off, causing a suspicious stare from Lenalee, and Krory hurried to continue untangling the streamer. He hadn't fully composed himself yet, to I hurried over to Miranda.

"Here, I'll take that," I said. I reached for it as she held it out to me, but at the last minute let my arms go wider than the box. We both watched as it clattered to the floor, and before she could notice I had done it on purpose I twisted my face into that of surprise. "I'm sorry!"

I took a quick glance at Krory to find he had regained his composure, and gave a small smile before continuing to apologize, bending down to pick the box up.

(("..."))

"Shh! If you're too loud they'll hear us!" Lavi whispered, and I glared at him. Why did he have to get so excited over a dinner between two teachers? Why couldn't he be excited earlier when it was just us two, instead of making me think I had seriously screwed up?

"Shouldn't we leave Krory and Miranda alone?" I asked impatiently, sure to keep my voice down so he wouldn't get angry.

"Are you kidding me? This is too good to miss!" Lavi replied, peeking through the fake tree separating us from Miranda and Krory's table. "He's gunna follow through! I can feel it!"

"Well that's just great," I muttered. "You want to watch our teachers' romances."

"Oh don't be such a pessimist." Lavi chided, quickly looking back at me. "You know you have nothing better to do."

I frowned bitterly, unable to disagree with this statement. Reluctantly, I shoved my head into the tree, next to Lavi. I laid my sight on the two teachers.

Miranda looked different, her hair down and her eyeliner not as thick, dressed in a delicate white dress that was held up by two thin straps. The dress only came to her knees when she sat down, and strappy white sandals adorned her feet. Her hands were folded nervously on her lap, but there was a bright smile on her face.

Krory, however, was just as nervous as before. Except now he was showing it in front of her. He looked good in his suit, black on black with a red rose tucked into his left breast pocket, but he kept running his hand through his hair or fidgeting with his pocket. Even his laugh and his smile were strained.

How long were we going to end up sitting here for?

"So...you like this place?" Krory asked. Miranda gave him an odd look before laughing a little.

"Of course I like this place. It's beautiful. Krory, you seem so nervous. What's wrong?"

Krory's face turned even whiter, if that were possible. Lavi leaned further forward and I grabbed him by his sleeve, trying to stop him. He turned sharply to glare at me, his green eye flashing, and I released my grip just as he tugged.

"Miranda – will you marry me?"

Two loud gasps sounded in my ears as my body fell to the ground. The feeling of bushes scratching at me disappeared, replaced by open air. I landed on top of who I could only assume was Lavi, my face on what felt like his chest. "Lavi! Allen!"

"Ow..." Lavi moaned, his chest vibrating in my ear. I moved my head so I could see his chin, and then looked at Miranda and Krory sitting in the table next to us, also where Lavi was looking. "Krory...that was a terrible proposal." Lavi grunted before pushing himself up a little. He flopped back down and sighed. "Allen, can you get off me?"

"Oh...right...sorry." I scrambled to get off, ignoring the feeling in my stomach that said not to. I sat on the ground, looking expectantly at Miranda. Lavi sat up as well, copying me. "Please, on all accounts, don't let us stop you from answering."

Lavi nodded in agreement, his face lighting up like a child's. Miranda looked utterly confused, then looked over at Krory's bright red face, then down at his open hands and the ring that sat there. She stared at it for a few moments, then it seemed to dawn on her what was happening.

First there was shock. Then there was fear. Then, there was joy. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes. Yes of course I'll marry you."

At first, it didn't register on Krory's face. Then there was shock and disbelief. Then it faded away and was replaced by a huge smile, and he stood up hastily. A new confidence seemed to fill him as he knelt down beside her and took her hand, slipping the slim gold ring around her finger, a single small diamond in the center of the band.

"I love you, Miranda Lotto." He whispered, and Miranda laughed. She then fell forward and kissed him. Tears had formed and were freely falling from her eyes.

It was odd, watching the scene. An odd sort of happiness filled me, one I never really felt before. I'd never had much occasion to feel happy for others, not even when Kanda and Lenalee got together, but I was definitely feeling it right now.

It felt really good.

"Congratulations you two." Lavi said. I hadn't noticed when he had stood up but he was. He had one of the most gentle smiles I had ever seen him give on his face. I could tell he felt just as happy for them as I did.

Krory pulled away from Miranda, placing a hand on her shoulder before looking up at Lavi. He, too, was crying a little. "Thank you, Lavi." He said earnestly. Then his face turned serious. "But do you mind telling me why you and Allen are here, creeping in the bushes?"

"We wanted to see you propose, of course!" Lavi replied with a grin. I grimaced, then pushed myself up so I could stand with him. Krory sighed before giving us a smile.

"Well, thank you, both of you." He said. "I don't know why it seemed so important for you to come, but I'm glad you did. Would you like a drink?"

"That would be awesome!" Lavi chimed, clapping me on the shoulder before taking a seat in one of the empty chairs. A little unsure of myself, I moved to the other side of the circular table and sat across from Lavi. I felt like we should be giving them alone time. I didn't look at Lavi, somehow afraid to, and instead turned to Miranda.

"Congratulations, Ms. Lotto. You must be really happy right now." I commented.

"Oh yes, thank you Allen." She smiled, wiping at her eyes. "I'm still a little dumbfounded, really. I'm wondering if this really happened."

She chuckled a little before looking at Krory again. They joined hands across the table, merely staring at each other, and suddenly I felt out of place. This really should be their time alone. And for some reason I couldn't look at Lavi during this, either. It didn't really seem like he want me to anyways, though.

I briefly wondered if I had somehow insulted him, but I couldn't really think of anything I had done as of late. Play rehearsals were off until Christmas Break finished, so he couldn't be angry with me about bad acting. We had long since gotten over the arm fiasco, albeit he simply hadn't brought the subject up so neither did I.

In other words, Lavi was acting unreasonably.

Suddenly, I was angry.

"Lavi...I need to get home early tonight." I said, making myself look like I had just realized this. Lavi gave me a very small glare before smiling.

"Alright. I guess we should get going then. Sorry we couldn't stay for a drink after you only just invited us to sit down." He said courteously, standing from his chair. I was quick to follow suit. I leaned down and gave Miranda a gentle hug, whispering another congratulations in her ear before pulling away and shaking Krory's hand.

I stood back and watched Lavi say his goodbyes, then together we said goodbye one last time and turned to leave. Walking through the restaurant, I felt light. My heart was thudding in my chest as we left, heading towards the black jeep that belonged to Lavi.

"Why did you rush us out of there?" Lavi asked once we were inside.

_Because you infuriate me. _"Because they deserve to be left alone after they just got engaged." I replied in a matter-of-fact tone. A brief look of shame crossed Lavi's features as he understood my statement, and he sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just get excited around weddings and engagements and pregnancies." He whispered, leaning his head against the steering wheel. He looked so delicate that I forgot about my anger for the time being.

"Why?" I whispered, genuinely curious.

"Because...I never met my parents. Not when I was old enough to comprehend who they were, anyways. They died before I could ever meet them." He whispered back. "I never got to be part of a happy family. I like to see it happen, to see what I missed out on."

Understanding crossed my features as I leaned forward, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder. I didn't say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing. I was never sure how to comfort Lavi. I never really thought I would have to.

After a while, he finally started the engine, sitting up again. I sat back, my hand falling away, and he drove away from the restaurant full of celebration.

(("..."))

Christmas day.

The one day I felt loneliest. Of course, I hadn't spend it with anyone since...

My fingers shook as I played the piano softly. Lavi was having me over for Christmas Eve with everyone else. While they had been distracted, I had snuck away to the music room. I still remembered the feeling as I taught Lavi how to play that melody...

What would Mana say if he knew I had taught it to someone else? Would he be happy I had found someone I trusted enough to teach it, or would he feel betrayed because it was _His_ song? After all...in the end it wasn't Mana who had taught me the song in the first place.

I closed my eyes, trying to force my mind to go elsewhere. I didn't want to think about these things. No matter how comfortable I was with my friends, or how in love I was with Lavi, those thoughts still burned just as badly as they used to.

I found myself playing a piece called White Lake. I closed my eyes gently, letting my fingers play out the melancholy tune. It was nice that a pianist could enjoy the sound of their own music so intently. It was not to say with other instruments one couldn't, but to me there was no instrument like the piano.

"You really do play extremely well." I jumped, my fingers scattering across the keys and making a not very pretty sound. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I looked to the doorway to find Angela. A brief sense of fear washed over me before I smiled in greeting. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to play. I can leave."

"No, no. That's not what I wanted. I was enjoying listening to you play. I wasn't sure who it was, since the young master is currently busy entertaining his guests. I thought maybe one of the servants were in here." She smiled at me kindly. I wasn't really sure how to react to this, considering our last meeting (and first) had involved her getting angry with Lavi about leaving a fairly rude note.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy it," I said feebly. I couldn't think of anything else.

"Where did you learn to play?" Angela asked, entering the room fully and sitting on an absent chair.

"I was taught by...someone close to me." I said with a small, sad smile. "He...died though."

"Oh!" She said in surprise, her expression turning apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the past."

"It's fine," I said kindly. After all, how could she have known?

"I'm glad you taught the young master how to play that song. He comes in here a lot more often now. He's nearly perfected it, but I don't think he plays it quite as beautifully as you." Angela said with a slightly proud smile, as well as complimentary.

"He still plays it?" I asked, frowning softly.

"Yes, he loves it." She replied. "I think he feels at peace when he plays it. And I think it reminds him of you."

I paused at the last part, and looked at Angela in confusion. How would that make him want to play it?

"The young master thinks very, very highly of you, Mr. Walker. You shouldn't underestimate his friendship with you. I've never seen him grow so close to someone before."

I wasn't exactly sure how to take that, honestly. I was unable to say anything as she stood up and left the room without another word. I looked at the soft ivory keys of the piano, and ran my fingers lightly over them, feeling the cold surface.

Was I really that important to the redhead?

(("..."))

I didn't want to wake up today.

I didn't want to see the gray sky outside.

I didn't want to get dressed.

But I had to. There was still no snow on the ground, despite what Lenalee had said a week ago. There was no White Christmas, or at least not yet. Forecast said it would snow by late afternoon. I didn't believe them, and was right to do so.

By six, there was still no snow on the ground. The sky was dark, and the street lamps were lit. Inside the house, Master was gone. He always left on Christmas. Left me alone to mourn on my own.

I sat in the living room, staring at the blank TV as if it would turn on on its own. Of course it wouldn't, and I knew this, but I didn't want to move. If I moved, I wouldn't be able to hold myself together.

So I sat in silence, choking back the huge ball in my throat, pushing away the thoughts that wished so desperately to come to mind. I refused to let them, I tried my hardest to keep my mind blank.

And then I heard the carollers. They weren't at my house yet but next door, but I could still hear them. There was probably a decent about of them if they were able to reach my ears in the next house over with the windows closed.

It triggered a memory in my head. Mana had me in his arms as we opened the door to a group of carollers, and we listened together as they sang to us. I had been so happy...

I don't even remember standing, or grabbing my coat, or slipping on my shoes. I don't remember leaving the house. But the next thing I knew I was running down my street, farther and farther from the carollers, from those memories. I didn't want to think..._I didn't want to think..._

I ran to the closest park. Panting, I sat at a bench in the middle of it, going along the pathway. The path was dimly lit with the street lamps, casting an eerie glow that would normally drive me away. Tonight I welcomed anything that would scare me; it would keep me distracted.

But it wasn't enough. I was breaking.

_Mana...Mana...Mana...Mana..._

I missed him. I missed his smile. I missed his gifts. I missed having a father and someone who cared about me. I had been alone for so long...the only time I hadn't been alone was when he had taken me in...

But then someone else came. Someone else took away that loneliness.

_Lavi._

How was it that he could take over my thoughts so easily? Why did I have to suddenly find my heart thumping and my breathing going shallow at the mere thought of him?

He had saved me. He had taken me under his wing and brought me back to a world worth living in. I had friends. I had a life. I was happy. Or at least to an extent I was. My memories still haunted me, still scarred me. They always would, I knew.

I knew that this was going to end. My happiness would end and I would be stuck alone again. Lavi would disappear. Lenalee and Fou and Kanda and Daisya would also disappear. They would all vanish from my life some day, if by their own choice or mine.

I would be alone again, no matter how much I didn't want to be. I knew that I wanted Lavi to stay in my life though. More than anything I wanted him there, even if only as a friend. I didn't care if he loved me, so long as I got to stay by his side. I could watch him grow happy. I could help him achieve happiness.

I wanted to see him...

_Lavi...Lavi...Lavi...Lavi..._

"Allen?"

"Lavi?" The name left my lips involuntarily. I said the name before it actually registered in my brain. I looked up, and there was Lavi, walking towards me. I choked back a sob, and realized I had been crying.

"Allen, what's wrong?" He asked, concern cutting across his face.

I shook my head, unable to speak again. I didn't want my voice to crack.

Lavi sat next to me without a word, folding his hands together and waiting. I cried silently next to him, wanting to reach over and touch him, to see if he was really there, if my wish had actually been granted. We sat for what must have been ten minutes before I finally calmed down and he talked again.

"Why aren't you at home?" he asked.

"No one there," I whispered hoarsely. "I could ask you the same question."

"I was coming to check up on you." My heart skipped a beat, and I looked up in surprise. I could tell my eyes were red and puffy, and for a brief moment felt embarrassed, but by seeing Lavi's concerned frown I forgot about it. He was genuinely concerned.

Something cold hit my cheek. I looked up at the sky, and watched as two more snowflakes appeared. Soon, more and more appeared.

"So the forecast was right...off by a while, but right." Lavi said lightly, and I looked at him. He smiled at me, but it was not a smile I was used to. It was a smile of kindness and caring. It was a smile of knowing. He knew. He knew at least part of the reason I was out here crying.

I felt my throat constrict, and swallowed. I couldn't say anything. I could only stare at him.

"I'm sorry, Allen..." he whispered, his smile growing softer by the second, until it was almost a frown. His gaze became intense. What was he thinking?

No...what was he _doing_?

He was leaning forward. He was closing the distance between us. His arms wrapped around me and he cradled my head, stroking my hair. My heart was beating faster by the second.

Very gently, surprisingly gently, Lavi pulled away. He didn't seem like the type who could be this gentle. Not to a friend, anyways.

And then he kissed me.

At first it was just a light kiss, a brush over the lips. Asking for permission. From the fact that I didn't pull away – in fact I did nothing, I was in too much shock – Lavi proceeded.

He kissed me with a bit more intensity this time. This time it was a real kiss, and this time I was able to respond.

I never imagined kissing him would taste this good. I stayed away from these thoughts because I was afraid of what they would lead to, but he tasted better than I had ever imagined. I sighed, and he pulled away gently.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while." He said quietly, and gave a small, confident smile. "Merry Christmas, Allen. You deserve it."

He stood up and left. Leaving me with my cheeks flushed, my heart racing, and my lips yearning for more. Lavi Bookman Junior, prodigy as well as playful and exciting, mysterious and unreadable, brooding yet always cheerful. Lavi Bookman Junior, the one I had fallen in love with. Lavi Bookman Junior, who had just kissed me.

Lavi Bookman Junior, who had completely eliminated any thoughts of Christmas.

End Chapter

A/N: Yep, that's right folks. I _updated_. The chapter sucks, it was really roughly put together and is kind of rushed – also one of the shortest chapters I've done in a really long time – but I got it out. And I have a feeling I won't get TOO many complaints, considering it FINALLY has kissing in it, which you've all been begging me for...

On another note, I am very sorry that I have not updated in so long. Now, don't go thinking I'll update all the time now. It just so happens that this is the first night in months and months that I have actually had more than two hours to myself, so I was able to spend crazy amounts of time writing.

As for the last scene, I had a perfect scene written out on paper but I COULD NOT FIND IT! I was so pissed. So anyways I had to go from the top of my head with only a general idea of what I wrote. All I knew was it was a park scene with snow and Lavi showing up while Allen was chanting his name in his head. I'm sorry it's not better, I wish I still had what I'd written out, but I can't find it.

I hope you are happy, my lovely fans. I did this just for you, because I decided that if I DID decide to end this story, it would at LEAST be after they kissed. I still have three segments I want to write, though, and a lot of ideas to go with them. If I find the time I'll work on Fate, but I can't guarantee ANYTHING. So don't get your hopes up.

Anyways, much love, and give lots of thanks to my Monkey Butt, cuz he inspired me to keep writing. Such a good Monkey Butt. Much love!


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